Duval Corporation

Henkel Corporation

Archibald W Fletcher

Abraham Sadan

Stephen M Olafson

Charles D'a Hunt

Leonard R Ochs

Robert B Sudderth

George E Atwood

David Naden

Charles Burnett

Harald Weber

Douglas E Cochran

Phillip O Tyree

A process for recovery of metal values from a mixed metal chloride containing leach solution by contacting the leach solution with a water immiscible solution of a complexing agent selective for the neutral chloride of the metal to be recovered and a chelating agent having affinity for the cation of the metal to be recovered. The chloride ion is washed from the water immiscible solution by contact with a chloride ion washing solution. The water immiscible solution containing the chelated metal ion is stripped with an aqueous stripping solution. The metal is recovered from the aqueous stripping solution.

Process for recovering a metal from an aqueous solution comprising a

A process is described for recovering metal values from a zinc-containing complex sulphide material comprising leaching the material in a first leaching stage under non-oxidative conditions with a controlled amount of an aqueous chloride lixiviant solution containing cupric chloride in an amount which is selected so as to solubilize at least a part of the zinc in the material and to precipitate a quantity of cupric sulphide substantially equivalent on a molar basis to the zinc leached from the material, the lixiviant solution further containing sufficient of a source of chloride ions other than cupric chloride to ensure solubilization of metal chlorides present, recovering from the first leaching stage a zinc chloride-containing leach liquor, recovering metal values from said leach liquor in a metal recovery section, treating solids from the first leaching stage under oxidizing conditions in a second leaching stage with a liquor containing hydrochloric acid and metal chlorides thereby to solubilize further metal values from the solids, to precipitate iron values and to regenerate cupric chloride-containing lixiviant solution for use in the first leaching stage, and recovering from the second leaching stage (a) a solids residue consisting essentially of (i) iron values in the form of ferric hydroxide and jarosite and (ii) sulphur and that is substantially free from non-ferrous metal values and (b) a cupric chloride-containing lixiviant solution for recycle to the first leaching stage.

Metal sulphide extraction

It has been discovered that suprisingly effective removal of impurities from copper can be achieved using electron beam distillation, especially with respect to relatively low amounts of impurities such as Ag, Se, Te, S, Bi and Pb. Certain pretreatments of unrefined metal prior to electron beam irradiation significantly improve overall results. These include iron and/or oxygen removal treatments. In a particularly advantageous embodiment, these impurity removal treatments and combinations thereof are achieved in conjunction with a new method of electron beam distillation of metals which involves a horizontal multistage system with recycle of the condensed vapor phases.

Electron beam refinement of metals, particularly copper

A method of recovering boric acid from a subterranean deposit of colemanite ore by solution mining, comprises:

Cyclic solution mining of borate ores

Growing community of inventors

Tucson, AZ, United States of America

Archibald W Fletcher