Societe Miniere Et Metallurgique De Penarroya

Minemet Recherche

Imetal

Mitsubishi Rayon Company, Limited

Societe Metallurgique Le Nickel Sln

Societe Metallurgique Le Nichel-s.l.n.

Jean-Michel Demarthe

Louis Gandon

Andre Georgeaux

Paolo Fossi

Alain Sonntag

Monique Goujet

Dominique Guery

Robert Lemarinel

Serge Solar

Albert Lebleu

Paul Fossi

The invention provides a hydrometallurgical process for recovering lead in essentially pure form from a sulphurized compound containing at least lead as a non-ferrous metal. The process involves treating the sulphurized compound with an aqueous lixiviating solution containing at least one chloride of a metal selected from the group consisting of copper, bismuth, antimony, arsenic, and silver, preferably cupric chloride, the quantity of said at least one chloride being less than or equal to that which is stoichiometrically required for the complete dissolution of the lead contained in the sulphurized compound, thereby to obtain a solution containing lead chloride and the chlorides of metals nobler than lead as impurities if originally present in the sulphurized lead compound, and an insoluble residue containing the sulphide of the metal of said at least one chloride, the sulphides of the non-ferrous metals originally present in the sulphurized compound, and free sulphur. The lead chloride solution is separated from the insouble residue, and purified by cementation with metallic lead or a more reducing metal than lead. Thereafter, the lead ions of the purified lead chloride solution are reduced to metallic lead which is recovered. The reduction may be accomplished by cementation with a more reducing metal than lead, preferably iron, or the reduction may be carried out by means of hydrogen.

Hydrometallurgical process for the treatment of sulphidized compounds

The invention provides a process for the selective dissolution of oxygenated compounds containing at least one non-ferrous metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, zinc, and copper, present in a mixture of oxygenated compounds containing said at least one non-ferrous metal and at least one element selected from the group consisting of lead, cobalt, iron, manganese, and silicon, and comprises suspending the mixture of the oxygenated metallic compounds in an aqueous phase which, preferably, contains chloride and alkaline earth metal ions; treating the resulting aqueous suspension, maintained at a pH exceeding about 1, with chlorine, preferably at a temperature ranging from about 60.degree. C. to the boiling point of the suspension, to selectively solubilize the said at least one non-ferrous metal while the said at least one element remains in an essentially insoluble residue; and separating the aqueous solution containing the dissolved said at least one non-ferrous metal from the insoluble residue. The starting mixture of the oxygenated compounds is exemplified by the product resulting from the roasting of a nickel matte, a basic carbonate of nickel, a mineral oxide of zinc, and the dust of a blast furnace.

Hydrometallurgical process for selective dissolution of mixtures of oxy

This present invention provides a process of recovering uranium from a uranium-containing acid lixiviation solution comprising extracting the lixiviation solution with an organic extractant comprising an organic diluent, a dialkyl pyrophosphoric acid, and a stabilization agent, and treating the mixture of solutions as follows:

Process for the recovery of uranium contained in phosphated compounds

The invention provides a process for extracting zinc from a sulphur- and zinc-containing ore which involves (a) leaching the sulphur ore or concentrate with an aqueous solution of cupric chloride, which can be regenerated by means of a regenerating agent and air; (b) subjecting the solution thus obtained to liquid-liquid extraction by means of an organic phase, preferably containing a solvent, comprising an acid organophosphorus compound; and (c) recovering the zinc contained in the said organic phase after the said extraction, preferably by elution. If justified by the composition of the ore, the following optional recovery steps may then be performed:

Hydrometallurgical process for treatment of sulphur ores

A process for recovering uranium contained in phosphated solutions including the steps of contacting the solution with a diester of pyrophosphoric acid, reextracting the uranium with an alkaline solution, precipitating the uranium, acidifying and agitating the resulting product, separating the organic phase from the aqueous phase and recycling the organic phase to the initial contacting step. The precipitate is separated prior to recycling.

Process for the recovery of uranium contained in phosphated solutions

This invention provides a process for treating a nickel matte to recover essentially pure nickel comprising: treating an aqueous mixture of the matte with chlorine to produce a solid residue and an aqueous lixiviating solution having a pH value which is substantially nil or positive; treating the lixiviating solution to produce a solution containing primarily nickel chloride; and electrolyzing the solution to recover pure nickel at the cathode.

Hydrometallurgical process for treating nickel mattes

The invention provides a method for selectively solubilizing the non-ferrous metals contained in sulphurized ores and concentrates, with regard to the iron and sulphur therein, by subjecting the ore or concentrate to lixiviation with an aqueous solution of cupric chloride at a temperature above 50.degree. C., preferably at a temperature between 70.degree. C. and 105.degree. C., and then regenerating said aqueous solution in situ at atmospheric pressure by means of air and a regeneration agent selected from the group consisting of hydrochloric acid and ferrous chloride. The invention also contemplates the preferable inclusion in the aqueous cupric chloride solution of an agent for solubilizing cuprous chloride selected from the group consisting of an alkali metal chloride, an alkaline earth metal chloride, ammonium chloride, and ferrous chloride. When the regeneration agent is hydrochloric acid, the pH of the aqueous cupric chloride solution is at most 1 in the presence of ferrous chloride and at most 3 in the absence of ferrous chloride. When the regeneration agent is ferrous chloride, the pH of the aqueous cupric chloride solution ranges between 1 and 3, the temperature of the solution exceeds 50.degree. C., and the solution contains at least 1g/l of cuprous ions and at least 2g/l of ferrous ions, with the result that geothite is precipitated and may be separated, and the non-ferrous metals isolated as the aqueous solutions of the metal chlorides.

Method of selectively bringing into solution the non-ferrous metals

Hydrometallurgical method for treating nickel mattes

A method for the dissolution of non-ferrous metals contained in oxygenated compounds in which the oxygenated compounds are subjected to the action of a ferrous chloride solution and a gas containing oxygen is mixed with the solution.

Method for dissolving the non-ferrous metals contained in oxygenated

The invention provides a process for recovering germanium as germanium oxide from a germaniferous metallic zinc which involves distilling the germaniferous metallic zinc under non-oxidizing conditions, recovering the distillation residue which contains the germanium, leaching the recovered distillation residue with chlorine water to convert the germanium into germanium tetrachloride, hydrolyzing the germanium tetrachloride into germanium oxide, and recovering the germanium oxide. Optionally, the germanium oxide may be reduced to metallic germanium, if desired.

Process for the recovery and purification of germanium from zinc ores

The invention provides a method for obtaining electrolytic copper from copper-bearing ores which involves (a) lixiviating a sulphurized copper concentrate with an aqueous solution containing cupric chloride; (b) separating the solution resulting from the lixiviation stage (a) into two parts, one of said parts, containing at least 1 gram of cuprous ions per liter and at least 2 grams of ferrous ions per liter, being subjected to oxidation by air at atmospheric pressure, at a pH value between 1 and 3, and at a temperature above 90.degree. C., resulting in the precipitation of goethite [FeO(OH)] which is separated, and the resulting solution then recycled to the lixiviation stage (a); (c) partially extracting the copper contained in the other part of the solution resulting from the lixiviation stage (a) by contacting the solution with an organic phase containing a cationic solvent, this extraction being accompanied by oxidation by injection of air; (d) re-extracting the copper, now contained in the organic phase, by contacting the latter with an aqueous sulphuric acid solution and recycling the organic phase to extraction stage (c); and (e) treating the copper sulphate solution obtained from the preceding stage (d) to obtain, on the one hand, elemental copper, and, on the other hand, an aqueous sulphuric acid solution which is recycled to the re-extraction stage (d), the major part of the aqueous phase resulting from stage (c) at which copper is partially extracted being recycled to the lixiviation stage (a).

Method of obtaining copper from copper-bearing ores

The present invention relates to a hydrometallurgical treatment process for extracting, in a pure (elemental) or other valuable (i.e. commercially usable) form, constituent metals from ferro-nickel, that is nickel, cobalt, iron and sometimes chromium.

Hydrometallurgical treatment process for extracting constituent metal

A method for obtaining electrolytic copper and other useful metals from sulphurized concentrates, including in combination, the following stages:

Method of obtaining copper from sulphurized concentrates

A method and apparatus for reclaiming nickel values from a nickeliferous alloy in which the nickeliferous alloy is subjected to nitric lixiviation and the nickel values are recovered from the resulting nickel nitrate solution.

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Viroflay, France

Jean-Michel Demarthe