How Do They Do That? How Copper is Made
Copper Applications in Mining & Extraction
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OXIDE LEACHING AND SOLVENT EXTRACTION-ELECTROWINNING (SX-EW)Copper oxide ore is piled onto thick high density polyethylene liner (nearly 250 acres in the case of San Manuel). Sprinklers placed on the surface spray a weak acid solution, which dissolves the acid-soluble copper in the ore. The copper bearing solutions are collected and pumped to a solvent extraction plant where an organic extractant removes the copper from the solution. The resulting electrolyte solution is transferred to the electrowinning process where copper is plated out as a cathode. |
On CU is the quarterly publication of BHP Copper, The Broken Hill Proprietary Corp., Ltd. © 1997 BHP Copper |
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Also in this Issue:
- How Do They Do That? How Copper is Made
- Traditional Pyrometallurgical Treatment of Concentrate
- How Do They Do That? In Situ Mining
- Millions of Dollars Saved With Non-Traditional Shutdown Procedures
- How Do They Do That? Bringing Copper to Market
- Big Blue Goes Copper
- How Do They Do That? Wringing Sulfuric Acid out of Sulfur Dioxide Emissions