Abstract
Leaching of sulfide-oxidized copper concentrate of the Udokan deposit ore with a copper content of 37.4% was studied. In the course of treatment in a sulfuric acid solution with pH 1.2, a copper leaching rate was 6.9 g/kg h for 22 hours, which allowed extraction of 40.6% of copper. At subsequent chemical leaching at 80°C during 7 hours with a solution of ferric sulfate obtained after biooxidation by an association of micro-organisms, the rate of copper recovery was 52.7 g/kg h. The total copper recovery was 94.5% (over 29 hours). Regeneration of the Fe3+ ions was carried out by an association of moderately thermophilic microorganisms, including bacteria of genus Sulfobacillus and archaea Ferroplasma acidiphilum, at 1.0 g/L h at 40°C in the presence of 3% solids obtained by chemical leaching of copper concentrate. A flowsheet scheme of a complex copper concentrate process with the use of bacterial-chemical leaching is proposed.
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Original Russian Text © M.I. Muravyov, N.V. Fomchenko, T.F. Kondrat’eva, 2011, published in Prikladnaya Biokhimiya i Mikrobiologiya, 2011, Vol. 47, No. 6, pp. 663–671.
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Muravyov, M.I., Fomchenko, N.V. & Kondrat’eva, T.F. Biohydrometallurgical technology of copper recovery from a complex copper concentrate. Appl Biochem Microbiol 47, 607–614 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0003683811060093
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0003683811060093