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Title: Novel Binders and Methods for Agglomeration of Ore

Abstract

Heap leaching is one of the methods being used to recover metal from low grade ore deposits. The main problem faced during heap leaching is the migration of fine grained particles through the heap, forming impermeable beds which result in poor solution flow. The poor solution flow leads to less contact between the leach solution and the ore, resulting in low recovery rates. Agglomeration of ore into coarse, porous masses prevents fine particles from migrating and clogging the spaces and channels between the larger ore particles. Currently, there is one facility in the United States which uses agglomeration. This operation agglomerates their ore using leach solution (raffinate), but is still experiencing undesirable metal recovery from the heaps due to agglomerate breakdown. The use of a binder, in addition to the leach solution, during agglomeration would help to produce stronger agglomerates that did not break down during processing. However, there are no known binders that will work satisfactorily in the acidic environment of a heap, at a reasonable cost. As a result, operators of many facilities see a large loss of process efficiency due to their inability to take advantage of agglomeration. Increasing copper recovery in heap leaching by the usemore » of binders and agglomeration would result in a significant decrease in the amount of energy consumed. Assuming that 70% of all the leaching heaps would convert to using agglomeration technology, as much as 1.64*10{sup 12} BTU per year would be able to be saved if a 25% increase in copper recovery was experienced, which is equivalent to saving approximately 18% of the energy currently being used in leaching heaps. For every week a leach cycle was decreased, a savings of as much as 1.23*10{sup 11} BTU per week would result. This project has identified several acid-resistant binders and agglomeration procedures. These binders and experimental procedures will be able to be used for use in improving the energy efficiency of heap leaching.« less

Authors:
; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, MI (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
896974
DOE Contract Number:  
FC26-03NT41924
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION; AGGLOMERATION; BINDERS; ENERGY EFFICIENCY; LEACHING; ORE PROCESSING; PARTICLE SIZE

Citation Formats

Kawatra, S K, Eisele, T C, Lewandowski, K A, and Gurtler, J A. Novel Binders and Methods for Agglomeration of Ore. United States: N. p., 2006. Web. doi:10.2172/896974.
Kawatra, S K, Eisele, T C, Lewandowski, K A, & Gurtler, J A. Novel Binders and Methods for Agglomeration of Ore. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/896974
Kawatra, S K, Eisele, T C, Lewandowski, K A, and Gurtler, J A. 2006. "Novel Binders and Methods for Agglomeration of Ore". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/896974. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/896974.
@article{osti_896974,
title = {Novel Binders and Methods for Agglomeration of Ore},
author = {Kawatra, S K and Eisele, T C and Lewandowski, K A and Gurtler, J A},
abstractNote = {Heap leaching is one of the methods being used to recover metal from low grade ore deposits. The main problem faced during heap leaching is the migration of fine grained particles through the heap, forming impermeable beds which result in poor solution flow. The poor solution flow leads to less contact between the leach solution and the ore, resulting in low recovery rates. Agglomeration of ore into coarse, porous masses prevents fine particles from migrating and clogging the spaces and channels between the larger ore particles. Currently, there is one facility in the United States which uses agglomeration. This operation agglomerates their ore using leach solution (raffinate), but is still experiencing undesirable metal recovery from the heaps due to agglomerate breakdown. The use of a binder, in addition to the leach solution, during agglomeration would help to produce stronger agglomerates that did not break down during processing. However, there are no known binders that will work satisfactorily in the acidic environment of a heap, at a reasonable cost. As a result, operators of many facilities see a large loss of process efficiency due to their inability to take advantage of agglomeration. Increasing copper recovery in heap leaching by the use of binders and agglomeration would result in a significant decrease in the amount of energy consumed. Assuming that 70% of all the leaching heaps would convert to using agglomeration technology, as much as 1.64*10{sup 12} BTU per year would be able to be saved if a 25% increase in copper recovery was experienced, which is equivalent to saving approximately 18% of the energy currently being used in leaching heaps. For every week a leach cycle was decreased, a savings of as much as 1.23*10{sup 11} BTU per week would result. This project has identified several acid-resistant binders and agglomeration procedures. These binders and experimental procedures will be able to be used for use in improving the energy efficiency of heap leaching.},
doi = {10.2172/896974},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/896974}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Sep 30 00:00:00 EDT 2006},
month = {Sat Sep 30 00:00:00 EDT 2006}
}