This project entitled "New Technology for the Processing of Copper Sulfide Concentrates" aims to optimize and modernize the pollution free technology for treatment of complex copper (Cu) concentrates using a water-vapor oxidation method and concentrate smelting in melting bath. The ore mining and metallurgical industry is currently experiencing rapid grawth, despite the fact that the prices for several metals (molybdenum, copper, etc.) have fallen for the last time.
The Republic of Armenia has huge reserves of useful metals. Archaeological excavations have revealed that in Armenia, since ancient times (V millennium BC), mining and metallurgy was developed. This is evidenced by the found fragments of melting furnaces with metallurgical slag, molds, patterns of metal products made of copper, bronze, gold: coins, tools, utensils.
One of the most common minerals in the Republic are sulfide rocks containing copper, molybdenum, iron, lead, zinc, precious metals and others. History of the industrial development of copper mines amounts about 230 years.In Armenia, 13 deposits of copper and molybdenum are discovered and explored. The total amount of copper and molybdenum is estimated as 2.5 billion tons, of which about 6 million are reserves of copper.Currently metallurgical enterprises in Armenia are producing and selling blister copper although this is a serious disadvantage because many useful metals including gold are unrecovered.
On the other hand, due to environment pollution by liquid and gaseous waste drastically tightened rules for permissible emissions that inevitably arise in processes of extraction, processing of rocks and obtaining metals. Therefore, the development of new environmentally friendly and waste-free technology of metal extraction from natural raw materials is a very important task. This is especially true for Armenia with its large reserves of precious metals located in a small area. In this regard, the technology developed by Kapan laboratory of Metallurgy and Enrichment of Institute of Chemical Physics of National Academy of Sciences of Republic of Armenia has great achievements.
This new technology is based on closed cycle metal sulfide treatment by water vapor. So far it has been applied mainly for processing of molybdenum sulfide concentrate [1-6], and the goal of presented project is the elaboration of environmental sound technology for treatment of cooper sulfide concentrate with production of pure copper metal and extraction of other useful substances containing in the concentrate. The major advantage of water vapor method is that sulfur is extracted in the form of elemental sulfur or sodium sulfide in contrast to common pyrometallurgical processing during which the sulfur is emitted in the form of SO2 gas catching and neutralization of which is a difficult and expensive problem.
In the second stage of proposed technology the obtained copper and iron oxides will be dissolved in sulfuric acid and subjected to electrolysis in special conditions with production of metallic copper. The residual sludge after electrolysis will be processed to obtain other precious and useful elements. The electrolyte, sulfuric acid, will be purified and sent to the initial stage of electrolysis. So the overall process will be implemented in closed cycle without significant solid, liquid and gaseous wastes.
The end product of the project will be the experimental unit with productivity of 10 kg daily demonstrating the proposed method. During the project implementation also various tasks will be resolved, particularly the kinetic and thermodynamic features of the process will be studied.
In this project an important role belongs to “ECOATOM” LLC which is Participant Institution 1. This team has many years experience in electrochemical production of metals and their oxides by electrodialysis and electrolysis methods [7,8]. The company has modern equipment for analysis of content of elements in raw materials and products.
The Republic of Kazakhstan also has rich mineral resources, including copper-sulfide rocks. There are many existing organizations engaged in processing of minerals, including the Institute of Metallurgy and Ore Beneficiation JSC (IMOB JSC). It was established in 1945 in the structure of Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences. Currently IMOB JSC is a major world-class research Institute performing fundamental and applied research and development of new technologies in the field of mineral processing, metallurgy and materials science completed with pilot tests [9-12]. IMOB JSC is included in this project as a Participant Institution 2 because they have big experience in processing of copper-sulfide processing concentrates. The technology devloped by IMOB JSC is based on pyrometallurgy with smelting in molten bath and efficient extraction and separation of copper, iron and precious metals (gold, silver, etc.). The activity of IMOB JSC in the project is to treat gold-bearing materials, copper-sulfide concentrates of Kazakhstan and Armenia origin by their own technology and comparison of methods of Armenian and Kazakhstan groups.
