A hydrometallurgical process for the extraction of copper
CIM Bulletin, Vol. 73, No. 815, 1980
J.H. McNAMARA, W.A. AHRENS and J.G. FRANEK, Cyprus Metallurgical Processes Corporation, Tucson, Arizona
An economical, pollution-free process has been developed for the hydrometallurgical extraction of copper from sulphide ores. The extracted copper, in the form of cuprous chloride (CuCl), is converted by reduction to copper metal. The metal is melted and fire-refined into wire bars which meet the standards of electrolytic tough pitch (ETP) copper wirebars.
Keywords:
Hydrometallurgy, Copper extraction, Cyprus Copper Process, Cymet process, Leaching, Fluid-bed reactors, Sulphide ores.
