Metal recovery from metal-containing materials

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for recovering metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from metal sulfide-bearing materials in mined materials where it would be "uneconomical" to recover the metals using conventional recovery options prior to the present invention. The method includes mixing (i) the metal sulfide-bearing material with (ii) pyrite to form a mass, leaching the mass with a leach solution and microorganisms to remove the metal from the metal sulfide-bearing material and form a pregnant leach solution containing the metal, and recovering the metal from the pregnant leach solution. Also disclosed is a heap leaching operation for metal sulfide-bearing materials. Also disclosed is a flotation circuit for an ore processing plant for metal sulfide-bearing materials.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for recovering metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from metal sulfide-containing materials in mining materials.

[0002] The present invention relates to a method for recovering metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from metal sulfide-containing materials in mining materials, for example, in a stockpile of waste materials, which is "uneconomical" from the prospect of recovering metals from materials by using conventional recovery options prior to the invention.

[0003] The term “mined material” is understood herein to include material that is mined and transported from a mine either (a) directly to downstream processing operations to recover metal from the material, or (b) to a stockpile. Stockpiled material may be material that can later be transported to downstream processing operations. Stockpiled material may have been “waste” material that would not be processed later, until the present invention was made, because recovering metal using the conventional recovery options available prior to the present invention was “uneconomical.”

[0004] The term "uneconomical" for recovering metal using conventional recovery options is understood to mean processing options that were used in commercial mines before the present invention was made.

[0005] The present invention relates, in particular, to a heap leaching method characterized by leaching a heap of pyrite lumps derived from tailings from a processing plant for recovering metals from metal sulfide-containing materials and pyrite, typically pyrite available from mines, such as metal sulfide minerals.

[0006] The present invention relates to a heap leaching operation that includes a heap containing metal sulfide-containing materials and pyrite, typically pyrite available from mines, such as metal sulfide minerals, which is derived from tailings of a processing plant for recovering metals from metal sulfide-containing materials such as metal sulfide minerals.

[0007] The present invention also relates to a flotation circuit for an ore processing plant for metal sulfide-containing materials, which produces a pyrite source.

[0008] The present invention also relates to an ore processing plant for metal sulfide-containing materials. [Background technology]

[0009] The technical field of the present invention is the production of metals, such as copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt, from metal sulfide-containing materials such as metal sulfide minerals in mines.

[0010] The following description of the present invention focuses on copper as an example of a metal in metal sulfide-containing materials such as metal sulfide minerals.

[0011] Copper is an increasingly important metal for the transition to a low-carbon global economy.

[0012] When the average concentration of copper in copper sulfide-containing materials decreases in established and new copper mines (this term includes mines where copper is the only metal recovered, as well as mines where copper and other high-value metals such as gold are recovered), mine operators face significant pressure on capital and operating costs.

[0013] In many cases, the problem of low copper concentrations in copper sulfide-containing materials, such as copper sulfide-containing minerals, is exacerbated by the fact that copper is now found in copper sulfide-containing minerals that are more refractory than before, and the process of recovering copper from these minerals is more difficult and costly.

[0014] Mining companies are also very aware of the importance of operating their mines in a way that minimizes both short-term and long-term environmental impacts.

[0015] The economic conditions faced by copper mine operators mean that there is a large amount of copper sulfide-containing material, including mined material and mined material in processed (i.e., crushed) form, and that recovering copper using the recovery options available prior to the invention is uneconomical, and therefore no processing is carried out to recover copper from copper sulfide-containing material.

[0016] Uneconomical copper sulfide-containing materials are typically stored in reserves often described as waste rock reserves.

[0017] The copper concentration in uneconomical copper sulfide-containing materials is not an absolute fixed value, but will fluctuate over time, taking into account external factors such as the mine's capital and operating costs, as well as the overall copper market, from mine to mine and from mine to mine.

[0018] The present invention provides a method for recovering copper from copper sulfide-containing materials, including copper sulfide-containing materials in mining materials, where recovering the metal using conventional recovery options prior to the invention was considered "uneconomical."

[0019] The present invention provides a method for recovering other metals, such as nickel, zinc, or cobalt, from metal sulfide-containing materials, including metal sulfide-containing materials in mining materials, where recovering the metal using conventional recovery options prior to the invention was considered "uneconomical."

[0020] The above explanation is not considered common knowledge in Australia or elsewhere. [Overview of the project]

[0021] The present invention relates to maximizing the beneficial use of the materials produced in mines containing metal sulfide-containing materials, such as copper mines containing copper sulfide-containing materials, as well as nickel, zinc or cobalt mines or mines producing from the metal sulfide-containing materials in the mining materials two or more of these metals, and minimizing the extent to which processing materials from outside the mine, such as reagents, are required. Although some aspects of the present invention may overlap with other descriptions, they are shown below. However, the present invention is not limited to the following. [1] A method for recovering metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from metal sulfide-containing materials in mining materials, such as metal sulfide-containing materials, where recovering the metals using conventional recovery options prior to the invention is "uneconomical," (a)(i) a step of mixing the metal sulfide-containing material and (ii) pyrite to form a mass; (b) Leaving the mass from step (a) using leachate and microorganisms to remove the metal from the metal sulfide-containing material and form a metal-containing leachate, wherein pyrite generates acid and heat that promotes the leaching of the metal from the metal sulfide-containing material, and the microorganisms oxidize ferrous to ferric; and (c) A step of recovering the metal from the leached noble liquid. Methods that include... [2] The method according to [1], wherein the metal sulfide-containing material is in the form of as-mined material or stockpiled material processed to be suitable for the agglomeration process (b). [3] The method according to [2], comprising crushing the as-mined or stored material to produce a particle size distribution suitable for the agglomeration step (b). [4] The method according to [3], comprising grinding mined or stored material in one or more grinding circuits that reduce the size of the material. [5] The method according to [4], comprising continuously grinding as-mined or stockpiled material in primary, secondary and tertiary grinding circuits. [6] The method according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the pyrite is in a pyrite-containing slurry such as tailings. [7] The method according to any one of [1] to [6], wherein the pyrite is derived from a pyrite-containing slurry such as tailings. [8] The method according to [7], comprising removing pyrite from the pyrite-containing slurry to produce pyrite in concentrated form. [9] The method according to [7] or [8], wherein the pyrite removal step (a) is to remove pyrite from the pyrite-containing slurry and to form (i) a pyrite-containing material and (ii) an inert flow.

[10] The method according to any one of [1] to [9], wherein the mixing step is performed before the coagulation step.

[11] The method according to any one of [1] to [9], wherein the mixing step and the coagulation step are performed simultaneously.

[12] The method according to any one of [1] to

[11] , wherein the leaching step is a heap leaching step.

[13] A heap leaching method for metal sulfide-containing materials containing metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt in mining materials, (a) Leaching the heap of the metal sulfide-containing material and pyrite lumps with a leachate containing microorganisms to produce a metal-containing leachate in the solution, the pyrite generating acid and heat that promotes the leaching of metal from the metal sulfide-containing material, the pyrite being present in or derived from the pyrite-containing slurry, and the microorganisms oxidizing ferrous to ferric; and (b) Recovering the leachate from the heap. A heap leaching method, including the following.

[14] Heap leaching is a process for extracting metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from metal sulfide-containing materials in mining materials. (a) a heap of the metal sulfide-containing material and pyrite; and (b) A heap leaching operation comprising (i) supplying leachate and microorganisms to the heap such that the leachate flows downward through the heap and leaches the metal from the metal sulfide-containing material, and (ii) collecting a leached liquid containing the metal in solution from the heap, wherein the pyrite generates acid and heat in the heap that facilitate the leaching of the metal from the metal sulfide-containing material, the pyrite is in or derived from a pyrite-containing slurry, and the microorganisms oxidize ferrous to ferric.

[15] Heap leaching operation as described in

[15] , wherein pyrite is 1 to 10% by weight of the total mass of the mass.

[16] A flotation circuit for an ore processing plant for metal sulfide-containing materials, (a) Mill feed flotation circuits for generating concentrated feed from tailings and mill feed containing metal sulfide material; and (b) Pyrite flotation circuit for generating pyrite concentrated flow and tailings flow A flotation circuit, including one.

[17] The flotation circuit according to

[16] , wherein the pyrite concentration logistics is a pyrite source for a method of recovering metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from a metal sulfide-containing material as described in any of [1] to

[12] .

[18] The pyrite flotation circuit according to

[16] or

[17] , wherein the pyrite flotation circuit is configured to process the pyrite-concentrated flow in accordance with the pyrite removal process described in

[10] to produce (i) the tailings flow as an inert flow and (ii) the pyrite-concentrated flow as a pyrite-containing material flow.

[19] The flotation circuit according to any one of

[16] to

[18] , wherein the mill feed flotation circuit includes a scavenger cell and a bulk cleaner cell, wherein the scavenger cell and bulk cleaner cell are configured to (i) process the mill feed and generate a first tailings stream and a concentrated stream, and (ii) process the concentrated stream and generate a second tailings stream and another concentrated stream, transfer the other concentrated stream for further processing such as metal recovery, and transfer the second tailings stream to a pyrite flotation circuit for processing in that circuit.

[20] The flotation circuit according to any one of

[16] to

[19] , wherein the metal sulfide-containing material is a copper sulfide-containing material such as a copper sulfide-containing mineral.

[0022] One advantage of the present invention is to provide an opportunity to maximize the recovery of metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from mines containing metal sulfide-containing materials in the mining material, while minimizing the costs associated therewith.

[0023] Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides an opportunity to minimize the environmental impact of the mine.

[0024] In a broad sense, the present invention provides a method for recovering metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from metal sulfide-containing materials in mining materials, such as metal sulfide-containing materials, where recovering the metals using conventional recovery options is "uneconomical." (a) A process of mixing (i) a metal sulfide-containing material and (ii) pyrite to form a mass; (b) A step in which the mass from step (a) is leached using leachate and microorganisms to remove metal from the metal sulfide-containing material, forming a metal-containing leachate, pyrite generating acid and heat, the acid accelerating the leaching of metal from the metal sulfide-containing material, and microorganisms oxidizing ferrous to ferric; and (c) Process of recovering metal from the leached noble liquid Includes.

[0025] More specifically, though not exclusive, the present invention provides a method for recovering copper from copper sulfide-containing materials in mining materials, such as copper sulfide-containing materials, where recovering copper using conventional recovery options prior to the invention is "uneconomical," and which, (a)(i) a step of mixing copper sulfide-containing material and (ii) pyrite to form a mass; (b) Leaving the mass from step (a) using leachate and microorganisms to remove copper from the copper sulfide-containing material and form a copper-containing leachate, pyrite generating acid and heat to promote the leaching of copper from the copper sulfide-containing material, and microorganisms oxidizing ferrous to ferric; and (c) Process of recovering copper from the leached noble liquid Includes.

[0026] Metal sulfide-containing materials can be derived from any suitable mining material.

[0027] As stated above, the term “mined material” is understood herein to include material that is mined and transported from a mine either (a) directly downstream to processing operations to recover metals from the material, or (b) transported to a stockpile to be processed later.

[0028] Metal sulfide-containing materials may be "uneconomical" to recover the metal using conventional recovery options.

[0029] The metal can be any suitable metal.

[0030] Examples of suitable metals include copper, nickel, zinc, and cobalt.

[0031] The metal may be copper.

[0032] In that case, for example, a metal sulfide-containing material could be a copper sulfide-containing material.

[0033] The copper sulfide-containing material may be any suitable copper sulfide-containing material, such as copper sulfide minerals.

[0034] An example of a copper sulfide-containing material is a rock that contains low concentrations of copper, which may be considered waste rock.

[0035] Copper sulfide-containing materials can be in the form of as-mined material or waste stockpiled material, containing low-grade, i.e., low-concentration copper in the material.

[0036] In other words, copper sulfide-containing materials may be as-mined or stockpiled materials that are considered too low-grade to be economically processed by flotation, as well as by other wet processing systems for recovering copper from copper-containing ores and concentrates.

[0037] The term "low-grade" as used above in relation to "copper sulfide-containing materials" is understood herein to be a term that depends on currently available technology and the current price of copper, and materials currently considered "low-grade" may be considered materials of future value depending on technological developments and the future price of copper.

[0038] More specifically, the copper sulfide-containing material may be as-mine or stockpiled material that is too low-grade to be economically processed by any other processing method, including heap leaching.

[0039] In the context of the previous paragraph, the term “low copper concentration” is understood to mean an average copper concentration of 1.5% by weight or less, typically 1.2% by weight or less, more typically 1.0% by weight or less, even more typically 0.7% by weight or less, even more typically 0.5% by weight or less, even more typically 0.3% by weight or less, and even more typically 0.1% by weight or less.

[0040] The metal sulfide-containing material may be in any form suitable for the agglomeration process.

[0041] The metal sulfide-containing material may be in the form of as-mined material or stockpiled material processed to be suitable for the agglomeration process.

[0042] The method may include crushing the raw or stored material to generate a particle size distribution suitable for the agglomeration process.

[0043] The grinding process may include grinding the mined or stored material in one or more grinding circuits that reduce the size of the material.

[0044] The grinding process may include the continuous grinding of as-mined or stored material in primary, secondary, and tertiary grinding circuits, as these terms are understood in the copper mining industry.

[0045] The grinding process may include one or more grinding steps to deliver the ground, as-mined or stored material to produce a material with a desired particle size distribution for the agglomeration process.

[0046] Pyrite may be present in 1 to 10% by weight of the total mass of the metal sulfide-containing material and pyrite.

[0047] Pyrite can be obtained from any suitable source.

[0048] Typically, pyrite sources originate from mines.

[0049] For example, pyrite may be present in tailings from a mine's tailings dam or ore processing plant, i.e., in pyrite-containing slurry, which is then used directly in the flocculation process.

[0050] The term “ore processing plant” is understood herein to mean any suitable plant for recovering metals from mined ore.

[0051] The term “ore” is understood herein to mean natural rock or sediment containing one or more high-value minerals, typically containing high-value metals, that can be mined, processed, and sold for profit.

[0052] As a further example, pyrite can be obtained by removing pyrite from pyrite-containing slurry from a mine's tailings dam or ore processing plant and using the removed pyrite in a flocculation process.

[0053] Typically, the pyrite removed from pyrite-containing slurries is in the form of a concentrate.

[0054] The method may include a pyrite removal step to remove pyrite from a pyrite-containing slurry, for example, from a tailings dam or ore processing plant, to form an inert flow, i.e., a flow that is less reactive than the tailings fed into the pyrite removal step with respect to the amount of pyrite in the inert flow.

[0055] The pyrite-containing slurry can be processed in a pyrite removal process, for example, by beneficiation, by any method of recovering and concentrating pyrite from the slurry.

[0056] The pyrite removal process may include suspending the pyrite-containing material in the pyrite-containing slurry to produce (i) an inert flow as one flotation output and (ii) a pyrite-containing material flow, such as a pyrite-containing concentrated flow, as another flotation output.

[0057] The pyrite removal process may include a size sorting step using a cyclone or other suitable sorting device prior to the flotation step described above, for example, separating larger particles from the pyrite-containing slurry and transferring the remaining pyrite-containing slurry to the flotation step.

[0058] The term "cyclone" is understood herein to describe a device capable of classifying, separating, or sorting particles in a liquid suspension based on the ratio of their centripetal force to fluid resistance. This ratio is high for dense (where density-based sorting is required) and coarse (where size-based sorting is required) particles, and low for light and fine particles.

[0059] The pyrite removal process may include reducing the size of larger particles within a size reduction circuit and returning the reduced-size particles to the size sorting process.

[0060] The pyrite removal step may include selecting the operating conditions of the size sorting step such that the pyrite particles in the pyrite-containing material in the remaining pyrite-containing slurry have the particle size distribution required for downstream processing of tailings, for example, in heap leaching operations.

[0061] The pyrite removal process may include concentrating and / or filtering the pyrite-containing material stream, dehydrating the stream, and forming a pyrite-containing concentrate.

[0062] The method described above has the following advantages: This method is "uneconomical" from the standpoint of metal recovery from metal sulfide-containing materials, as it allows for the extraction of metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from metal sulfide-containing materials. • When pyrite is present in tailings (i.e., pyrite-containing slurry), this method allows for the processing of pyrite-containing tailings, thereby reducing the volume of existing tailings dams. This is a significant environmental benefit. The acid and heat-generating capabilities of pyrite are advantageous in leaching processes such as heap leaching, for example, as they can reduce the amount of acid required in the leaching solution. Furthermore, the acid-producing ability of pyrite means that it can be used beneficially in leaching processes, which is important from an environmental perspective, as it leads to a net reduction of pyrite. • Note that any amount of metals in pyrite-containing material, such as copper, nickel, zinc, and cobalt, is a bonus, as they are incorporated into the heap along with the pyrite and can be recovered in the heap leaching process. In addition to the pyrite production described above, the removal of pyrite from tailings generates an inert flow, that is, a flow that is less reactive than the tailings fed into the pyrite removal method in terms of the amount of pyrite in the inert flow. This is beneficial because pyrite turns the tailings into "acid-producing tailings," which is an environmental problem as it is a problem of tailings disposal, and pyrite in tailings is an environmental problem. • If the pyrite content is sufficient to eliminate the need for a pyrite removal process, the option of directly adding the pyrite-containing slurry during aggregation is an efficient use of these tailings. This method can be operated using readily available, trial, and tested equipment. This method allows for the processing of materials previously classified as waste, namely metal sulfide-containing materials and tailings, thereby reducing the environmental impact of these materials and optimizing the recovery of value from the initial mined materials.

[0063] The coagulation process may be any suitable process for coagulating a metal sulfide-containing material, such as a copper sulfide-containing material, with a pyrite-containing material.

[0064] The agglomeration process may include mixing a metal sulfide-containing material, such as a copper sulfide-containing material, with a pyrite-containing material and agglomerating them.

[0065] Pyrite particles in pyrite-containing materials have a P value of less than 1 m or 1 mm. 80 It may have a particle size of [specify particle size].

[0066] Pyrite particles in pyrite-containing materials may have a P0 particle size of 250 μm or less than 250 μm.

[0067] The mixing step may be performed before the coagulation step.

[0068] The mixing and coagulation processes may be carried out simultaneously.

[0069] The leaching process may be any suitable leaching process.

[0070] The leaching process may also be a heap leaching process.

[0071] The leaching process may include any suitable heap leaching process for leaching metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from the metal sulfide-containing material in the heap of the mass and recovering the metals in a solution.

[0072] In a broader sense, the present invention also provides a heap leaching method for metal sulfide-containing materials that contain metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt, or two or more of these metals, and the method is (a) Leaching a heap of metal sulfide-containing material and pyrite lumps using a leachate, with pyrite that generates acid and heat to promote the leaching of metal from the metal sulfide-containing material and the formation of a metal-containing leachate in solution, typically using pyrite present in or derived from pyrite-containing slurry such as tailings, using microorganisms that oxidize ferrous to ferric; and (b) Recover the leachate from the heap. Includes.

[0073] The heap leaching method also includes recovering the metal from the leached noble liquid.

[0074] The present invention also relates to a heap leaching operation for leaching metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from metal sulfide-containing material in mining material, wherein the heap leaching operation is (a) heaps of metal sulfide-containing material and pyrite; and (b) The system includes (i) supplying leachate and microorganisms to the heap so that the leachate flows downward through the heap and leaches metal from the metal sulfide-containing material, and (ii) collecting the leachate containing metal in solution from the heap, wherein pyrite generates acid and heat in the heap to facilitate the leaching of metal from the metal sulfide-containing material, the pyrite is in or derived from a pyrite-containing slurry such as tailings, and the microorganisms oxidize ferrous to ferric.

[0075] Metal sulfide-containing materials can be derived from any suitable mining material.

[0076] As stated above, the term “mined material” is understood herein to include material that is mined and transported from a mine either (a) directly downstream to processing operations to recover metals from the material, or (b) transported to a stockpile to be processed later.

[0077] In a broader sense, the present invention also provides a mining method, and the method (a) the process of mining metal sulfide-containing materials such as copper sulfide-containing materials; and (b) The above method for recovering metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from metal sulfide-containing materials that have been classified as “uneconomical” by the mine operator based on the prospects of metal recovery from the material, Includes.

[0078] The method may include processing metal sulfide-containing ore in a metal sulfide-containing material at an ore processing plant and producing a pyrite-containing slurry for step (b).

[0079] The present invention also provides a flotation circuit for an ore processing plant for metal sulfide-containing materials, the flotation circuit is, (a) Mill feed flotation circuits for generating concentrated feed from tailings and mill feed containing metal sulfide material; and (b) Pyrite concentration logistics, i.e., pyrite flotation circuits for generating pyrite-containing slurry and tailings, Includes.

[0080] Pyrite concentration logistics can be a source of pyrite for the aforementioned methods of recovering metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from metal sulfide-containing materials.

[0081] The pyrite flotation circuit may be configured to process a pyrite-concentrated flow, i.e., a pyrite-containing slurry, in accordance with the pyrite removal process described above, to produce (i) a tailings flow as an inert flow, and (ii) a pyrite-concentrated flow as a pyrite-containing material flow.

[0082] The mill feed flotation circuit may be any suitable circuit.

[0083] The mill feed flotation circuit can include a scavenger cell and a bulk cleaner cell. These may be standard scavenger and bulk cleaner cells. They may be existing cells in an ore processing plant. They may be cells in a greenfield plant.

[0084] The coarse sorter / scavenger and bulk cleaner cell may be configured such that (i) the coarse sorter / scavenger cell processes the mill feed to produce a first tailings stream and a concentrated stream, and (ii) the bulk cleaner cell processes the concentrated stream to produce a second tailings stream and another concentrated stream, transfers the other concentrated stream for further processing such as metal recovery, and transfers the second tailings stream to a pyrite flotation circuit for processing in that circuit.

[0085] The metal sulfide-containing material may be a copper sulfide-containing material such as a copper sulfide-containing mineral.

[0086] The mill feed may be any suitable particle size distribution of metal sulfide-containing material.

[0087] The ore processing plant may include any suitable upstream grinding circuit for generating mill feed, and downstream recovery and other optional tailings storage.

[0088] The present invention also provides an ore processing plant for metal sulfide-containing materials, including the flotation circuit described above.

[0089] The ore processing plant may include any suitable upstream grinding circuitry, as well as downstream recovery and tailings storage and / or processing options.

[0090] The metal sulfide-containing material may be a copper sulfide-containing material such as a copper sulfide-containing mineral.

[0091] The present invention is further described below as merely an example with reference to the following drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0092] [Figure 1] For example, this is a flow sheet of one embodiment of a processing method that involves beneficiating pyrite-containing tailings, i.e., pyrite-containing slurry, and using pyrite removed from the tailings in downstream heap leaching of copper sulfide-containing materials. [Figure 2] Graphs of copper extraction against leaching time in a series of column bioleaching tests performed on (i) ore samples from a copper mine, (ii) copper ore enhanced with pulverized museum-grade pyrite, and (iii) copper ore enhanced with pyrite concentrate prepared by flotation of tailings produced at the copper mine. [Figure 3] This is a flow sheet of one embodiment of a flotation circuit for an ore processing plant according to the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0093] One embodiment of the present invention described below relates to the recovery of copper from copper sulfide-containing material from a mine.

[0094] It should be noted that this invention is not limited to copper, but extends to other metals such as nickel, zinc, or cobalt in metal sulfide-containing materials from mines.

[0095] Generally speaking, the embodiment shown in Figure 1 is, (a) The process of mining copper sulfide-containing materials, such as copper sulfide-containing minerals, and, if necessary, stockpiling them; (b) A process of processing the copper sulfide-containing ore in the copper sulfide-containing material in an ore processing plant as described herein, (i) recovering copper, and (ii) producing a pyrite-containing slurry; (c) A process of processing pyrite-containing slurry to produce pyrite; and (d) Process of processing “uneconomical” copper sulfide-containing material with pyrite in a heap leaching operation as described herein. This is a mining method that includes [unclear / unclear].

[0096] More specifically, the heap leaching operation shown in Figure 1 is, (a) A process of processing a pyrite-containing slurry from a mine tailings dam or ore processing plant (not shown) and removing pyrite therefrom; (b) A process of forming a mass of pyrite from copper sulfide-containing material and process (a); (c) A step of leaching the mass using pyrite, which promotes the recovery of copper from copper sulfide-containing material, to form a copper sulfide-containing liquid; and (d) Process for recovering copper from copper sulfide-containing liquid Includes.

[0097] It should be noted that the pyrite-containing slurry can be any suitable pyrite-containing slurry, such as tailings from an ore processing plant. Example 2 and Figure 3 illustrate an embodiment of a flotation circuit according to the present invention for producing a suitable pyrite-containing slurry.

[0098] "Uneconomical" copper sulfide-containing materials are described in relation to Figure 1 in the context of waste rock, i.e., materials from which it is "uneconomical" to recover the metal from conventional recovery options, i.e., processing options used in commercial mines before the invention was made. The material may be as-mined or stockpiled material. Typically, the copper concentration in waste rock is 1.5% by weight or less, typically 1.2% by weight or less, more typically 1.0% by weight or less, even more typically 0.7% by weight or less, even more typically 0.5% by weight or less, even more typically 0.3% by weight or less, and even more typically 0.1% by weight or less.

[0099] Furthermore, an embodiment of the method for recovering copper from a copper sulfide-containing material according to the present invention, shown in Figure 1, is described in the context of pyrite, which is a pyrite concentrate extracted from tailings of a mine.

[0100] The present invention is not limited to this embodiment and is generally understood to extend to any suitable copper-containing material and any suitable source of pyrite.

[0101] Processing of copper-containing material before forming a mass - Steps 1, 2, 3 In the flow sheet shown in Figure 1, the copper sulfide-containing material is in the form of waste rock 1, which was re-mined from stockpile 1.

[0102] As mentioned above, it is currently believed that these waste rock stockpiles are of too low grade to be economically processed for copper recovery using known conventional methods.

[0103] As described above, the present invention is not limited to the source of this copper sulfide-containing material.

[0104] For example, copper sulfide-containing material may be deemed too low-grade to be economically recoverable by known conventional methods during test work (e.g., drilling and blasting) conducted in the mine area before mining, and subsequently transported directly from the mine (without being stockpiled) for processing in steps 2 and 3 after mining.

[0105] The stored waste rock 1 is transported by a suitable vehicle such as a transport truck or front-end loader, and is continuously crushed and pulverized in primary, secondary, and tertiary crushing circuits 2 and 3 to the extent necessary to generate a particle size distribution suitable for the agglomeration process 4.

[0106] The grinding circuits 2 and 3 may include one or more grinding steps to deliver the ground copper-containing material to one or more grinding and sizing steps to generate a grinding product stream with a desired particle size distribution in the agglomeration step 4.

[0107] Grinding steps 2 and 3 can be carried out using any suitable combination of a swirling grinder, a cone grinder, and a high-pressure grinding roll (HPGR) grinder (not shown).

[0108] The resulting pulverized copper sulfide-containing material is transferred to the agglomeration step 4.

[0109] Agglomeration step 4 The aggregation process 4 is, (a) the crushed copper sulfide-containing material produced in steps 2 and 3; and (b) In this embodiment, pyrite (see below) is a pyrite-containing concentrate derived from tailings. To aggregate.

[0110] The agglomeration step 4 may be any suitable agglomeration step using any suitable equipment, such as an agglomeration drum.

[0111] For example, crushed copper sulfide-containing material and pyrite-containing concentrate are added to a mixing apparatus in the required ratio and mixed with or without a binder, with or without acid, with or without water, with or without a reused leachate.

[0112] The required ratio depends on factors such as the amount of pyrite in the rock. Typically, the broad pyrite concentration range for the mixed product is 1-10% pyrite.

[0113] The selection of binders and acids, as well as the addition of water and / or recycled leaching solutions, are functions of several factors, including the properties of the crushed copper sulfide-containing material and pyrite-containing concentrate, as well as the mechanical properties required for the mass.

[0114] The coagulation step 4 may include, if necessary, any suitable protocol for adding and mixing the pulverized copper sulfide-containing material and pyrite-containing concentrate, along with a binder and water.

[0115] The mass is stored in stack 5 and then transferred to the heap leaching process described later.

[0116] Heap leaching and downstream solvent extraction and electrolysis steps 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12 The chunks from stack 5 are formed on the leachate pad into heap 6.

[0117] Heap 6 can be any suitable heap structure. (a) A delivery system for supplying leachate to the upper surface of the heap and for storing leachate; (b) A leachate collection system for collecting copper-containing leachate in a solution extracted from copper sulfide-containing material in a heap mass; and (c) The system is equipped with microorganisms (such as bacteria or archaea) or other suitable oxidizing agents for oxidizing ferrous to ferric, the ferric being the oxidizing agent in the leaching process.

[0118] The leached noble liquid is processed in a solvent extraction system 9, which extracts copper from the liquid in an organic medium, then detaches the copper from the organic medium, and generates a copper-containing solution.

[0119] The copper-containing solution is transferred to the electrolytic extraction plant 10, where copper is recovered from the solution.

[0120] Raffinates from the solvent extraction system 9 are regenerated and returned to the heap as leachate. The leachate regeneration system includes a raffinate bleed limestone / lime neutralizer 11 to control the accumulation of impurities and produces a neutralized solid for separate storage, or possibly storage with tailings.

[0121] The pyrite-containing concentrate within the mass provides a useful acid source via pyrite and heat.

[0122] The acid-producing properties of pyrite mean that the amount of acid that must be added to the leachate can be reduced while maintaining a given leachate acid requirement.

[0123] Furthermore, microbial oxidation of pyrite generates acid and heat, all of which are beneficial for heap leaching of copper sulfide-containing materials.

[0124] Sorting process for pyrite-containing tailings 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 As mentioned above, the pyrite in the aggregation process 4 is tailings.

[0125] Typically, tailings are the product of ore processing plants used to recover copper from copper sulfide-containing ores that contain copper sulfide-containing materials such as copper sulfide minerals.

[0126] The ore processing plant may be any suitable plant.

[0127] An example of an ore processing plant includes the crushing of mined ore with a series of crushing and grinding steps, one or more flotation circuits for suspending copper sulfide minerals from the crushed ore (described above and in Example 2 as “Mill Feed”), and the production of beneficial concentrates and tailings (pyrite-containing slurry).

[0128] Typically, the solids in tailings are in the form of (a) a slurry in the form of fine powder containing low concentrations of copper, typically less than 0.4 wt%, and more typically less than 0.3 wt%, and (b) a slurry of pyrite-containing particles suspended in water. Typically, these fine powders and pyrite-containing particles settle slowly. The pyrite-containing particles may also contain some amount of copper.

[0129] The tailings are transported, for example, from a tailings dam or other suitable tailings source 15, or directly from, for example, an ore processing plant, by being pumped into a series of cyclones 16, or any other suitable size sorting option to separate larger solids from the remaining fine-grained tailings.

[0130] Cyclone 16 may be any suitable cyclone.

[0131] The larger solid flow from the cyclone is processed in size reduction circuits such as the crushing / grinding / polishing circuit 17.

[0132] The product of this circuit is returned to cyclone 16 for further processing within the cyclone.

[0133] The operating conditions of the cyclone are selected so that the remaining tailings have the grain size distribution required for the heap leaching process 5. In this regard, typically, the pyrite-containing particles in the remaining tailings have a P value of 1 mm or less. 80 It has a particle size of 250 μm or less than 250 μm. More typically, pyrite particles in the remaining tailings have a P value of 250 μm or less. 80 It has a particle size of [specify particle size].

[0134] The remaining tailings from cyclone 16 are transferred to a first flotation circuit 18 (described as a "pyrite flotation cell" in Example 2 related to Figure 3) and processed within the circuit. Appropriate flotation reagents are added to the circuit as needed. Operating conditions, including the reagents, are selected to suspend pyrite-containing particles. Typically, these operating conditions will also suspend copper particles.

[0135] The underflow from the first flotation circuit forms the inert flow described above. As stated above, the term “inert” means that the flow is less reactive than the slurry introduced into the method with respect to the amount of pyrite in the flow. In the context of Figure 1, this means that the underflow flow is less reactive than the pyrite-containing tailings supplied to the method with respect to the amount of pyrite in the flow. As stated above, this is beneficial because pyrite turns the tailings into “acid-producing tailings,” and since this is a problem of tailings disposal, pyrite in tailings is an environmental problem. This method offers the opportunity to produce an environmentally safe product for use in downstream applications such as copper ore processing plants and can reduce the requirement for an oxidizer (ferric). Ferric (produced by microbial oxidation of ferrous dissolved from iron-containing minerals in pyrite concentrate and waste rock) oxidizes pyrite and copper sulfide minerals. In the embodiment of Figure 1, the underflow flow for the first flotation circuit is transferred to a downstream neutralization step 11, which will be described later.

[0136] The overflow, i.e., the flotation flow from the first flotation circuit, is transferred to the second flotation circuit 19 (described in Example 2 in relation to Figure 3 as the "pyrite flotation cell") and processed therein.

[0137] The second flotation circuit 19 processes the flotation flow from the first flotation circuit. Appropriate flotation reagents are added to the circuit as needed. The operating conditions, including the reagents, are selected to suspend the pyrite-containing particles.

[0138] The underflow from the second flotation circuit is returned to the first flotation circuit.

[0139] The pyrite-containing suspended stream from the second flotation circuit is transferred to the concentration device 20, where it is dewatered to form a pyrite-containing concentrate.

[0140] The pyrite-containing concentrate is transferred from the concentration apparatus 20 to the aggregation steps 4 and 5 described above.

[0141] The embodiments described have two flotation circuits 18 and 19, but it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to this number of circuits.

[0142] The embodiments described include a cyclone 16 and a crushing / grinding / polishing circuit 17 that returns the material to the cyclone 16, but it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to this configuration.

[0143] For example, the combination of the cyclone 16 and the crushing / grinding / polishing circuit 17 is not necessary if the particle size distribution in the tailings supplied from the tailings dam or other suitable tailings source 15 is suitable for downstream processing after the sorting process.

[0144] As a further example, if there is a downstream process to optimize the particle size distribution of pyrite particles in a pyrite-containing concentrate, the combination of the cyclone 16 and the crushing / grinding / polishing circuit 17 is not necessary.

[0145] Advantages of the embodiment shown in Figure 1 The embodiments shown in Figure 1 and the advantages of the present invention generally include the following advantages. Depending on the method, copper can be extracted from copper sulfide-containing materials, such as copper sulfide-containing materials, which have been classified as "uneconomical" by mine operators due to the prospects of recovering copper from the material. • By processing the tailings, the volume of existing tailings dams can be reduced. This is an important environmental achievement. Tailings pose significant environmental and safety risks during the lifespan of a mine. At the end of a mine's lifespan, there are considerable problems in maintaining and repairing tailings dams. Furthermore, there are potential problems in the structural preservation of tailings dams. Occasionally, there are catastrophic collapses of tailings dams, resulting in loss of life and considerable damage to areas downstream of the dam. Also, tailings often contain contaminants (such as pyrite) that pose challenges to mine repair. Pyrite in tailings poses a potential environmental hazard because tailings can oxidize and produce acidic effluents that need to be neutralized and contaminants removed before they can be discharged. The acid and heat-generating capabilities of pyrite are advantageous in leaching processes such as heap leaching, for example, as they can reduce the amount of acid required in the leaching solution. Furthermore, the acid-producing ability of pyrite means that it can be used beneficially in leaching processes, which is important from an environmental perspective, as it leads to a net reduction of pyrite. Note that any amount of copper in pyrite-containing material is a bonus, as it is incorporated into the heap along with the pyrite and can be recovered during the heap leaching process. In addition to the pyrite production described above, the removal of pyrite from tailings generates an inert flow, that is, a flow that is less reactive than the tailings fed into the pyrite removal method in terms of the amount of pyrite in the inert flow. This is beneficial because pyrite turns the tailings into "acid-producing tailings," which is an environmental problem as it is a problem of tailings disposal, and pyrite in tailings is an environmental problem. This method can be operated using readily available, trial, and tested equipment. This method allows for the processing of materials previously classified as waste, such as low-grade copper-containing materials or waste rock and tailings, reducing the environmental impact of these materials while optimizing the recovery of value from the initial mining materials.

[0146] Example 1 The applicant conducted column bioleaching tests to investigate the effect of pyrite enhancement on the bioleaching of copper ore.

[0147] Column bioleaching tests evaluated copper extraction against leaching time for (i) ore samples from copper mines, (ii) copper ore enhanced with pulverized museum-grade pyrite, and (iii) copper ore enhanced with pyrite concentrate prepared by flotation of tailings produced at copper mines.

[0148] A sample of ore from a copper mine is 9mm P 80 The material was then crushed to less than 12 mm and approximately 10 kg of this material was added to a flocculation drum containing water and concentrated sulfuric acid.

[0149] In the pyrite-added tests, either nearly pure museum-grade pyrite or a fine pyrite concentrate produced by flotation of tailings from copper mines was mixed with the ore in the agglomeration drum to increase or enhance the pyrite content of the agglomeration material from the naturally occurring 0.86 wt% pyrite in the ore to 4.0% pyrite. Both pyrite samples used were very fine, and P 100 The particle size was 150 μm. The sample was subjected to elemental and mineralogical analysis.

[0150] It should be noted that the term “museum-grade pyrite” is understood herein to mean a pyrite content of more than 90% by weight, typically more than 95% by weight, typically more than 97% by weight, or more typically more than 99% by weight. Museum-grade pyrite may have a silver content of less than 1 mg / kg, typically less than 0.5 mg / kg, typically less than 0.2 mg / kg, or more typically less than 0.1 mg / kg.

[0151] Table 1 summarizes the elemental and mineral compositions of the ore, museum-grade pyrite, and pyrite concentrate used in the tests. [Table 1]

[0152] After mixing, the aggregated material was packed into a column 1 m high and 0.1 m in diameter and allowed to cure at room temperature for 2-5 days before leaching began. During leaching, a heating jacket was used to control the column temperature to 50°C, and the column was heated to 0.102 Nm 3 The column was aerated with / h / ton ore. Ferrous and sulfur-oxidizing microorganisms were seeded into the column, and a washing solution containing 5g / L of ferric sulfate was initially passed through a dripper at 10L / h / m³. 2 The fluid was pumped to the top of the column and collected at the bottom.

[0153] The pH of the recovered leachate was adjusted to the target pH of 1.2 using sulfuric acid as needed, and then returned to the top of the column for recirculation. Solution samples were periodically taken for analysis of their metal and sulfate concentrations.

[0154] The washing solution had a sulfate concentration of approximately 20 g / L at the start of leaching. When the sulfate concentration in the solution exceeded 120 g / L due to the addition of sulfuric acid and oxidation of sulfide minerals, the solution was diluted to maintain a maximum sulfate concentration of 120 g / L.

[0155] If the copper concentration in the solution exceeded 8 g / L due to copper leaching, the solution was subjected to ion exchange to remove the copper and reduce the copper concentration to below 8 g / L.

[0156] Column assays were performed under leaching for 350 days. After leaching was complete, the column was rinsed first with dilute sulfuric acid and then with water to remove dissolved metals and sulfates contained in the leached solution. The column was then emptied, the solid was dried, and assayed with the final leached solution. Mass balances were performed, and copper extraction was reported based on the calculated copper head assay.

[0157] Figure 2 is a graph showing copper extraction versus leaching time for three column tests, and Table 2 summarizes the copper and sulfide mineral extractions achieved. [Table 2]

[0158] The beneficial effect of enhancing ore with pyrite on copper extraction is evident from Figure 2 and Table 2.

[0159] Copper extraction was increased by 11.5% and 14.4% respectively by adding museum-grade pyrite and pyrite concentrate. The improvement in copper extraction was due to the addition of fine particle size (P 100It is thought to be due to the increased availability of ferrous iron resulting from the oxidation and leaching of pyrite that reacted rapidly (with a particle size of 150 μm). This is clear from the pyrite extraction results shown in Table 2. The extraction of pyrite in the ore was only 50.0%, but the extraction of pyrite from the ore enhanced with museum-grade pyrite and pyrite concentrate was much higher, reaching 90.2% and 89.4% respectively.

[0160] Notably, copper extraction was very high from the -150 μm fine fraction in all three tests, 87.1% in the ore test, 90.2% in the test with ore enhanced with museum-grade pyrite, and 92.0% in the test with ore enhanced with pyrite concentrate. The results demonstrate that the copper minerals contained in the ore fines achieved very high copper extraction, similar to the copper minerals enhanced with two types of pyrite having a particle size of -150 μm. The natural silver content of the column feed sample expressed as g Ag / kg CuFeS2 in Table 2 has a beneficial catalytic effect and is thought to have improved the recovery of copper from chalcopyrite (taught in the international application PCT / AU2018 / 050316 (International Publication No. 2018 / 184071) in the name of the applicant of the present application), particularly from the fine fraction of chalcopyrite. 100 Therefore, the present invention provides a means to achieve very high copper extraction from copper minerals including pyrite enhancement, and also has high copper extraction from copper minerals contained in the ore.

[0161]

[0162] Example 2 The purpose of Example 2 is to show the effectiveness of removing pyrite from the pyrite-containing slurry generated in the flotation circuit of an ore processing plant.

[0163] Figure 3 is a flow sheet of one embodiment of a flotation circuit 23 for an ore processing plant according to the present invention.

[0164] The ore processing plant can include any suitable upstream grinding circuit and downstream recovery and tailings storage or other options (not shown).

[0165] The flotation circuit 22 shown in Figure 3 includes a rough scavenger cell 25 and a bulk cleaner cell 27. These may be standard rough scavenger and bulk cleaner cells. They may be existing cells in an ore processing plant. They may be cells in a greenfield plant.

[0166] The flotation circuit 22 shown in Figure 3 also includes a pyrite flotation cell 29 of the type described above in relation to Figure 1, it should be noted that Figure 1 includes two cells 18, 19, and Figure 3 shows a single cell 29. It should be noted that the present invention extends to any suitable number of pyrite flotation cells, including, if necessary, size sorting and regrinding options 16, 17 as shown in Figure 1, for example, and other options for processing the feed material to the cells.

[0167] During use, the mill feed 31 is transferred to a coarse sorter / scavenger cell 25, which generates a concentrated feed 33 and a first tailings feed 35. The mill feed 31 may be any suitable mill feed produced by a combination of grinding, grinding, and sizing processes, for example, an existing grinding circuit in an ore processing plant or a circuit designed for the purpose of a greenfield plant.

[0168] The first tailings stream 35 is transferred to a storage area 37. This may be a tailings dam or other tailings processing option.

[0169] The concentrated logistics 33 from the rough sorter / scavenger cell 25 is transferred to the bulk cleaner cell 27, which generates the plant concentrated logistics 39 and the second tailings logistics 41.

[0170] The plant-concentrated logistics 39 from the bulk cleaner cell 27 are transferred for the recovery of copper and other metals such as molybdenum. Recovery options may be any suitable options.

[0171] The second tailing stream 41 from the bulk cleaner cell 27 is transferred to the pyrite flotation cell 29, which generates a pyrite-containing concentrated stream 43 and a third tailing stream 45.

[0172] The first and third tailing streams 35, 45, and optionally a portion of the second tailing stream 41, are transferred to a storage location such as a tailings storage facility or other tailings processing options.

[0173] The pyrite-containing concentrated logistics 43 is transported for further processing, such as aggregation, and for use in the heap leaching circuit described above, as shown in Figure 1.

[0174] The applicant conducted a large-scale flotation test on a sample of scavenger / cleaner tailings, i.e., the second tailing stream, in a pyrite flotation cell shown in Figure 3. The results are shown below.

[0175] Table 3 summarizes the composition of pyrite concentrates obtained from scavenger / cleaner tailings, i.e., the feed from the second tailing stream, within a pyrite flotation cell.

[0176] The table shows the effectiveness of pyrite (and copper minerals, which is a significant advantage) recovery in pyrite concentration logistics from tailings using flotation (see rows 1-10).

[0177] This process produced a pyrite-grade coarse / scavenger tail containing 83% pyrite-grade pyrite concentrate, 2.2% Cu, and less than 0.8% pyrite. [Table 3]

[0178] Table 4 provides a summary of key results from large-scale pyrite flotation experiments, showing that 78% by weight of the pyrite originally present in the tailings samples was recovered in the pyrite concentrate. [Table 4]

[0179] Grab samples of pyrite flotation feed, i.e., the second tail stream 41, and the tail portion of the pyrite flotation cell, i.e., the third tail stream 45, were subjected to Acid / Base Accounting (ABA) testing. A summary of the results is shown in Table 5. [Table 5]

[0180] The ABA results show a decrease in pyrite in the tail (lower AP), i.e., the second and third tail streams 41 and 45. The negative NNP (Net Neutralization Potential) indicates that the pyrite flotation cell feed, i.e., the second tail stream 41, is a net acid generator, and the ratio of over 1 (6.42) of the pyrite flotation cell tail, i.e., the third tail stream 45, indicates that the inert stream (i.e., the flotation tail) can be used as ground cover / filling material.

[0181] It is clear from the above that the flotation circuit shown in Figure 3 is an effective circuit for generating pyrite-containing slurry that can be used in pyrite concentration logistics, i.e., in the heap leaching operation described above in relation to Figure 1.

[0182] Many modifications can be made to the flowchart in Figure 1 without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0183] For example, the embodiment includes steps 1-3 of processing waste rock to form a copper sulfide-containing material which is one feed for coagulation step 4, but the present invention is not limited to this combination of steps.

[0184] As a further example, embodiments include processing a pyrite-containing slurry from tailings and removing the pyrite therefrom, but the present invention is not limited to this option and extends to the use of any suitable source of pyrite.

[0185] For example, the present invention extends to directly adding pyrite-containing tailings during aggregation when the pyrite-removal process is unnecessary due to the presence of sufficient pyrite, thereby enabling the efficient utilization of these tailings.

Claims

1. A method for recovering metals from metal sulfide-containing materials in mining materials, Pyrite removal process (a): A process of obtaining pyrite-containing slurry from tailings from a tailings dam or ore processing plant; Mixing step (b): A step of mixing (i) the metal sulfide-containing material and (ii) pyrite in the pyrite-containing slurry or pyrite obtained from the pyrite-containing slurry to form a mass; Leaching step (c): A step of leaching the mass from step (b) using an acidic leachate and microorganisms to remove the metal from the metal sulfide-containing material and to form a metal-containing leaching liquid, wherein pyrite generates acid and heat that promotes the leaching of the metal from the metal sulfide-containing material, and the microorganisms oxidize ferrous to ferric; and Recovery step (d): A step of recovering the metal from the leached noble liquid. Includes, A method wherein the metal is copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the metal sulfide-containing material is in the form of as-mined material or stored sulfide-containing material processed to be suitable for the mixing step (b).

3. The method according to claim 2, comprising crushing the raw material or stored sulfide-containing material to produce a particle size distribution suitable for the mixing step (b).

4. The method according to claim 3, comprising grinding a mined or stored sulfide-containing material in one or more grinding circuits that reduce the size of the material.

5. The method according to claim 4, comprising continuously grinding mined or stored sulfide-containing material in primary, secondary, and tertiary grinding circuits.

6. The method according to claim 1, comprising removing pyrite from the pyrite-containing slurry to produce pyrite in concentrated form.

7. The method according to claim 1, comprising removing pyrite from the pyrite-containing slurry, and forming (i) a pyrite-containing material and (ii) an inert flow.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the leaching step (c) is a heap leaching step.

9. A heap leaching method for metal sulfide-containing materials containing copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt in mining materials, (a) Obtaining pyrite-containing slurry from tailings from tailings dams or ore processing plants; (b) Leaching the pyrite-containing slurry or the heap of metal sulfide-containing material and pyrite lumps in pyrite obtained from the pyrite-containing slurry with an acidic leachate containing microorganisms to produce a noble leachate containing copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt in the solution, wherein the pyrite generates acid and heat that promotes the leaching of copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from the metal sulfide-containing material, wherein the pyrite is present in or originates from the pyrite-containing slurry, and the microorganisms oxidize ferrous to ferric; and (c) Recovering the leachate from the heap. A heap leaching method that includes this.

10. A heap leaching operation for leaching copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from metal sulfide-containing materials in mining material, (a) A step of forming a heap of a mass of the metal sulfide-containing material and pyrite, wherein the pyrite in the mass has the ability to generate acid and heat that promotes the leaching of the copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from the metal sulfide-containing material, and reduces the amount of acid added to the leaching solution for the leaching of the copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from the metal sulfide-containing material; and (b) A heap leaching operation comprising the steps of (i) supplying an acidic leachate and microorganisms to the heap such that the acidic leachate flows downward through the heap and leaches the copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from the metal sulfide-containing material, and (ii) operating a system for collecting a leached liquid containing the copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt in solution from the heap, wherein the pyrite generates acid and heat in the heap that facilitate the leaching of the copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt from the metal sulfide-containing material, the pyrite is in or derived from a slurry containing pyrite from tailings of a tailings dam or ore processing plant, and the microorganisms oxidize ferrous to ferric.

11. The heap leaching operation according to claim 10, wherein the pyrite is 1 to 10% by weight of the total mass of the mass.

12. A flotation circuit for processing metal sulfide-containing materials, (a) Mill feed flotation circuits for generating mill feed flotation circuit concentrated flow from mill feed and mill feed containing metal sulfide material; and (b) A pyrite flotation circuit for generating tailings from tailings of a pyrite concentrate and mill feed flotation circuit, wherein the pyrite flotation circuit is configured to transfer pyrite concentrate from a pyrite flotation circuit that is agglomerated with metal sulfide material for a method of recovering copper, nickel, zinc, or cobalt according to any one of claims 1 to 8, A flotation circuit, including one.

13. The flotation circuit according to claim 12, wherein the mill feed flotation circuit includes a coarse sorter / scavenger cell and a bulk cleaner cell, the coarse sorter / scavenger and bulk cleaner cell are configured to (i) process the mill feed by the coarse sorter / scavenger cell to generate a first tailings stream and a first concentrated stream, (ii) process the first concentrated stream by the bulk cleaner cell to generate a mill feed flotation circuit tailings stream and a mill feed flotation circuit concentrated stream, transfer the mill feed flotation circuit concentrated stream for further processing, and transfer the mill feed flotation circuit tailings stream to a pyrite flotation circuit for processing in the pyrite flotation circuit.

14. The flotation circuit according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the metal sulfide-containing material is a copper sulfide-containing material.

Images