ProjectTR – 19030A
Development of Technology for Treatment the Low-Grade Copper Concentrate with
Increased Toxic Elements Content for the Environment Protection (2008-2010),
funded by the Ministry of Science and Technological Development of Republic
of Serbia
Organization: Technical Faculty at Bor, University of Belgrade
Participant organization: Institute for Technology of Nuclear and Other
Mineral Raw Materials – ITNMS, Belgrade
Project leader: Nada Štrbac, Ph.D., professor, Technical Faculty at Bor
Project coordinator in ITNMS: Miroslav Sokić, Ph.D.
Objectives:
The copper
content decrease in domestic ore deposits resulted in the necessity for treatment
the ores located on the periphery of already exploited ore bodies, which have
increased concentration of detrimental ingredients and trace elements, such
as: Zn, Pb, As, Cd, Hg, Ni etc. This fact indicates the urgent need for process
environmental parameters enhancement in the frame of existing production technology
at TIR in Bor, what makes the fundamentals of this project. The objective is
development of technological procedure for treatment the domestic low-grade
copper concentrate with increased content of toxic ingredients.
In the first stage, the concentrate admixtures behaviour
during oxidative roasting and copper concentrate melting process will be examined.
Examinations will include the influence of admixtures content and process parameters
(temperature, time, air flow, pressure and concentrate particles size) on thermodynamic
and kinetic indicators of oxidation process. Accomplished analysis of admixtures
concentration influence on the kinetics of oxidative roasting and melting process
will be the basis for recommendation the methods for their content lowering
in the environmentally reasonable manner.
In the second stage, the effect of different procedures
for detrimental ingredients removal out of copper concentrate will be examined,
and process optimization for treatment the copper concentrate that origins form
Bor deposit will be evaluated. The main process characteristic is hydrometallurgical
treatment of the concentrate for admixtures dissolving before the pyrometallurgical
treatment starts. The following procedures aimed to decrease admixtures content
will be examined: 1.alkaline leaching of concentrate using sodium sulphide,
after fine grinding mechanical activation and 2. leaching of concentrate using
sodium hypochlorite under alkaline conditions of oxidation, with dissolution
of arsenic and other detrimental admixtures in the form of MeO43-, while chalcopyrite retains its sulphide form suitable for further pyrometallurgical
treatment.
Relevant project result will reveal in full comprehension
of physico-chemical parameters of the oxidative leaching process of concentrate
with detrimental ingredients increased content, and based on it developed technology
for their environmental friendly elimination. The technology of hydrometallurgical
treatment of copper concentrate can be integrated in existing technology after
flotation process, but before oxidative roasting process. In that way, the copper
concentrate would have been free of detrimental admixtures, which were impossible
to eliminate through the flotation treatment, and it could be subjected to unobstructed
roasting in fluosolid reactor.
Investigators:
1. Miroslav Sokić, Ph.D., research associate,
ITNMS
2. Vladislav Matković, M.Sc., research assistant,
ITNMS
3. Branislav Marković, M.Sc., research assistant,
ITNMS
4. Nada Štrbac, Ph.D., professor, Technical Faculty
at Bor
5. Ivan Mihailović, Ph.D., assistant professor,
Technical Faculty at Bor
6. Milovan Vuković, Ph.D., assistant professor,
Technical Faculty at Bor
7. Slavica Prvulović, Ph.D., assistant professor,
Technical Faculty at Bor
8. Milorad Ćirković, M.Sc., research
associate, Institute of mining and metallurgy at Bor
9. Aleksandra Ivanović, research strudent,
Institute of mining and metallurgy at Bor