Kennecott Corporation

Kennecott Copper Corporation

Ralph W Lai

John K Litchfield

Edwin L Owen

Dioxime extractants having the following general formula: ##STR1## where R and R' may be any of a variety of organic hydrocarbon radicals such as aliphatic, alkyl and aryl radicals. R and R' may also be hydrogen. Preferably R is an unsaturated hydrocarbon or branch chain alkyl group containing from about 3 to 20 carbon atoms and R' is hydrogen or an unsaturated hydrocarbon or branch chain alkyl group containing from about 1 to 10 carbon atoms. Preferably, there is a difference of about 3 to 10 carbon atoms between R and R' resulting in dissymmetry of the resulting dioxime molecule. Preferably, the dioximes also contain a total of about 5 to 32 carbon atoms. Representative compounds are methyl octyl dioxime and methyl hexyl dioxime. Organic preparations containing such dioximes are useful for the extraction of copper, nickel and cobalt metal values from acid or basic aqueous solution.

Dioxime ion exchangers

Isostearic acid, a liquid isomer of stearic acid, is used as an agent in a froth flotation process to concentrate the iron oxide in iron ores. By use of this flotation agent, the iron oxide in the ground ore is directly floated away from the remainder of the ore. The process enables a high amount of iron oxide to be concentrated from low grade ores.

Beneficiation of iron ore

Cobalt solvent extraction with dioxime ion exchangers

A process in which manganese is recovered from manganese nodules after the nodules have been treated to recover base metals such as copper, nickel, cobalt, and molybdenum. The process includes the steps of reacting the manganese in the nodules to yield a carbonate and subjecting the manganese carbonate to flotation. The manganese carbonate froth is collected from the top of a flotation cell, is dried to produce a manganese concentrate, and is sintered to produce a synthetic manganese oxide. Sintering of such concentrates at 1000.degree. C. yields a product containing greater than 50% manganese. The effect of reagent dosage, pH control, and temperature control on the yield of the synthetic manganese oxide is also disclosed.

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Lexington, MA, United States of America

Ralph W Lai