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Extractive metallurgy, the science and technology used in the productions of

metals, employs some of the same unit operations ( ) as chemical
engineering. Different metals require different combinations of operations, but
typically the production of a metal involves two major steps.

The first is the production of an impure ( ) metal from ore

minerals, commonly oxides or sulfides, and the second is the refining ( ) of
the reduced impure metal, for example, by selective oxidation of impurities or by
electrolysis ().

Extractive metallurgy is continually challenged( , ) by the

demand () for metals which have not been produced previously( ) or

are difficult to produce; by the depletion ( ) of the deposits

of the richer and more easily processed ores of the traditional( )

metals; and by the need for metals of greater purity and higher quality.

The reasons for metals dominance in our life are not far to seek, for owing to
their unique properties, they may be melted and cast into a multitude of shapes
and sizes weighing from a few ounces to many tons.

Their ability to deform without rupture allows them to forged

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into intricate shapes, and their strength and hardness makes possible their
utilization in building, transport, structural engineering, and other industries.

The resistance to the corroding effects of atmosphere, sea-water and

chemicals shown by many of the non-ferrous metals is another of their valuable
advantages. Electrical conductivity is also a valuable property of many metals.

Of the 100 elements available to us, about three-quarters can be classified as

metals. And, about half of these are of at least some industrial or commercial use.
100

Metal alloys, which are combinations of two or more elements, are far more
versatile ( ) and for this reason are the form in which most metals are
produced and used by industry.

Drying and Calcination

A sulphating roast is achieved at about 600~700, with a restricted
amount of air and is used to produce a material which can be leached with
dilute H2SO4 to give a solution from which the metal may be readily
recovered.
600~700

A less-common type of roasting reaction may result at high

temperatures where oxide and sulphide interact to produce the
metalknown as a reduction roast:
2MeO+MeS3Me+SO2

2MeO+MeS3Me+SO2

Smelting
Smelting is essentially a melting process in which the components of the

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charge in the molten state separate into two or more layers which may be slag,
matte, speiss or metal. Constituents of the charge, sometimes including values,
may also appear in the furnace gases.

Matte smelting
Matte smelting is usually carried out on concentrate which has been roasted to
reduce its sulphur content to such a level that, when it is smelted with a suitable
flux, a high-grade matte will be produced along with a slag containing most of
the gangue materials.

Hydrometallurgy
The basic steps of hydrometallurgy are dissolution or leaching of values from
the ore, elimination of unwanted elements from the pregnant liquors
(purification), concentration of the values and their deposition from solution
either in compounded form by chemical precipitation or by reduction of the
metal either chemically or electrolytically.

Precipitated compounds may be treated further by any appropriate method. The

essential conditions are that the valuable mineral must be soluble in water or in
some other cheap reagent like sulphuric acid or that it can be rendered so
soluble.

Dump Leaching: The overburden and tailings dumps for copper mining
operations often contain enough copper that it would be worthwhile to recover
some of it. Dump leaching is then used to recover as much of the copper as can

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be leached out without spending a lot of time and money on preparing the ore.

This is done by trickling the leaching solution over a dump, and collecting the
runoff solution to recover the copper that it dissolves, as shown in Figure 24.
Dump leaching is quite slow, with periods of months or years needed before
leaching is completed, and typically only about 60% of the copper in the dump is
recovered.

24

60%

Heap Leaching is similar to dump leaching, but instead of simply dumping ore
on a hillside, the ore is crushed approximately to the size of gravel (to improve
leaching rates and recovery) and piled onto artificial waterproof pads, as shown
in Figure 25.

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25

Once the ore has finished leaching (after approximately 6 months to a year), the
leached gangue is removed from the pad for disposal, and replaced with fresh
ore.

25
Solvent Sprinkler

Solution collection

Waterproof pad (with embedded drainage channels)

Solvent extraction
Solvent extraction involves two operations:
a) Extraction The metal values in the aqueous ( ) phase are extracted by
agitation with an organic solvent immiscible in that phase. The two phases are
then allowed to separate; the aqueous phase is discarded or recycled and the
loaded organic phase saved.
b) Stripping Recovery of the metal values from the loaded organic phase by
agitation with a small volume of suitable solution. The stripped solvent is then
recycled. In this way a concentrated solution containing the metal values in a
relatively pure form is obtained.

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a)

b)

Converting
The purpose of converting is to remove iron, sulfur and other impurities from
matte thereby producing liquid metallic copper in a crude (98.599.5% Cu)
blister copper form. This is achieved by oxidizing the molten matte at a high
temperature, 1150~1250, with air.
98.5%99.5%

1150-1250

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