Extraction of antimony and arsenic from sulphidic concentrates
The efficiency of both mineral processing and extractive metallurgy of minerals depends on the separation of individual mineral components and on the exposure of their surface. The production of flotation concentrates, with particle sizes of tens of microns, is not sufficient for many hydrometallurg...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Technical University of Kosice
2000-09-01
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| Series: | Acta Montanistica Slovaca |
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| Online Access: | http://actamont.tuke.sk/pdf/2000/n3/12balaz.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818567098861879296 |
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| author | Balá Peter |
| author_facet | Balá Peter |
| author_sort | Balá Peter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The efficiency of both mineral processing and extractive metallurgy of minerals depends on the separation of individual mineral components and on the exposure of their surface. The production of flotation concentrates, with particle sizes of tens of microns, is not sufficient for many hydrometallurgical processes to operate at their optimum. As a consequence, metallurgical plants require for the effective processing high temperatures and pressures and some sort of concentrate pretreatment. Mechanical activation is an innovative procedure where an improvement in hydrometallurgical processes can be attained via a combination of new surface area and formation of crystalline defects in minerals. The lowering of reaction temperatures, the increase of rate and amount of solubility, preparation of water soluble compounds, the necessity for simpler and less expensive reactors and shorter reaction times are some of the advantages of mechanical activation. The environmental aspects of these processes are particularly attractive.This paper is devoted to the examples of application of mechanochemical treatment in the processing of sulfidic concentrates. The sulphide concentrates of various origin (Peru, Chile, Slovakia) were succesfully tested for antimony and arsenic extraction. The mechanochemical treatment improve the degree of recovery and the rate of leaching of both metals. Two modes of mechanochemical treatment were tested: the mechanical activation before leaching and the mechanochemical leaching which integrates mechanical activation and leaching into a common step. The flowsheet consisted of mechanochemical leaching in an attritor and further operations as filtration, cementation, antimony precipitation, crystallization and arsenic precipitation. The pilot plant unit was designed for 500 kg per day feed of tetrahedrite concentrate. For the antimony extraction, electrowinning has also been considered. The residue which is a CuAgAu concentrate was designed as a feed to the copper smelter. The MELT process (mechanochemical leaching of tetrahedrite) was developed and tested by the Institute of Geotechnics of Slovak Academy of Sciences in a pilot plant unit in Rudòany. The leaching time for the total recovery of antimony in the MELT process is more than 10-fold shorter in comparison with the SUNSHINE process applied in the USA. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T06:19:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ed96448606fa4c448b93a5d9fdd6daa3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1335-1788 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T06:19:07Z |
| publishDate | 2000-09-01 |
| publisher | Technical University of Kosice |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Montanistica Slovaca |
| spelling | doaj.art-ed96448606fa4c448b93a5d9fdd6daa32022-12-21T23:13:54ZengTechnical University of KosiceActa Montanistica Slovaca1335-17882000-09-0153265268Extraction of antimony and arsenic from sulphidic concentratesBalá PeterThe efficiency of both mineral processing and extractive metallurgy of minerals depends on the separation of individual mineral components and on the exposure of their surface. The production of flotation concentrates, with particle sizes of tens of microns, is not sufficient for many hydrometallurgical processes to operate at their optimum. As a consequence, metallurgical plants require for the effective processing high temperatures and pressures and some sort of concentrate pretreatment. Mechanical activation is an innovative procedure where an improvement in hydrometallurgical processes can be attained via a combination of new surface area and formation of crystalline defects in minerals. The lowering of reaction temperatures, the increase of rate and amount of solubility, preparation of water soluble compounds, the necessity for simpler and less expensive reactors and shorter reaction times are some of the advantages of mechanical activation. The environmental aspects of these processes are particularly attractive.This paper is devoted to the examples of application of mechanochemical treatment in the processing of sulfidic concentrates. The sulphide concentrates of various origin (Peru, Chile, Slovakia) were succesfully tested for antimony and arsenic extraction. The mechanochemical treatment improve the degree of recovery and the rate of leaching of both metals. Two modes of mechanochemical treatment were tested: the mechanical activation before leaching and the mechanochemical leaching which integrates mechanical activation and leaching into a common step. The flowsheet consisted of mechanochemical leaching in an attritor and further operations as filtration, cementation, antimony precipitation, crystallization and arsenic precipitation. The pilot plant unit was designed for 500 kg per day feed of tetrahedrite concentrate. For the antimony extraction, electrowinning has also been considered. The residue which is a CuAgAu concentrate was designed as a feed to the copper smelter. The MELT process (mechanochemical leaching of tetrahedrite) was developed and tested by the Institute of Geotechnics of Slovak Academy of Sciences in a pilot plant unit in Rudòany. The leaching time for the total recovery of antimony in the MELT process is more than 10-fold shorter in comparison with the SUNSHINE process applied in the USA.http://actamont.tuke.sk/pdf/2000/n3/12balaz.pdfmechanical activationsulphidealkaline leachingantimonyarsenic |
| spellingShingle | Balá Peter Extraction of antimony and arsenic from sulphidic concentrates Acta Montanistica Slovaca mechanical activation sulphide alkaline leaching antimony arsenic |
| title | Extraction of antimony and arsenic from sulphidic concentrates |
| title_full | Extraction of antimony and arsenic from sulphidic concentrates |
| title_fullStr | Extraction of antimony and arsenic from sulphidic concentrates |
| title_full_unstemmed | Extraction of antimony and arsenic from sulphidic concentrates |
| title_short | Extraction of antimony and arsenic from sulphidic concentrates |
| title_sort | extraction of antimony and arsenic from sulphidic concentrates |
| topic | mechanical activation sulphide alkaline leaching antimony arsenic |
| url | http://actamont.tuke.sk/pdf/2000/n3/12balaz.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT balapeter extractionofantimonyandarsenicfromsulphidicconcentrates |