PILOT PLANT TESTS FOR ACID LEACHING OF LOW GRADE COPPER OXIDE ORES FROM KALMAKYR COPPER MINE
Abstract
This paper investigates the feasibility of copper recovery from oxide ores at the Kalmakyr mine (Almalyk, Uzbekistan) using heap leaching, solvent extraction, and electrowinning (HL-SX-EW) technologies. Mineralogical analysis via XRF and XRD confirmed that the ore primarily consists of malachite with a copper content of 1.53%, alongside silicate gangue minerals. A pilot plant with a 10,000-ton annual capacity was utilized to evaluate key operational parameters, including permeability, water evaporation, and acid consumption. Due to the soil-like fine particle size of the ore, the heap exhibited a low permeability of sec and a relatively high water consumption of 1.8 ton. However, the study demonstrated an efficient acid consumption rate of 6.9 kg per 1 kg of recovered copper, which is significantly lower than previous benchmarks due to the higher copper grade of the Kalmakyr ore. The results confirm the technical viability of processing these piled-up oxide ores for commercial copper production.
References
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