Calcium Chloride-Oxygen Leaching and Metals Recovery from an Arsenical Copper-Cobalt Concentrate

摘要

A calcium chloride-oxygen leaching procedure and metal-recovery method for treating an arsenical Cu-Co sulfide concentrate was developed by the Bureau of Mines as an alternative to smelting. The procedure involved leaching in a calcium chloride solution with CaCO3 for 96 h at 26 pct solids (concentrate and CaCO3), 115 C, and a pressure of 50 psig (345 kPa) with oxygen. More than 98 pct of the cobalt and 97 pct of the copper were extracted, and 99.98 pct of the arsenic and 99.9 pct of the iron remained in the leached residue.