Ore agglomeration behavior and its key controlling factors in heap leaching of low-grade copper minerals

The particle segregation, stratification, excessive feed size of non-agglomerated heaps chronically leads to poor heap permeability and leaching efficiency. Thus, owing to well-developed dual pore structure, desirable liquid retention and better leachability, the ore agglomeration has been widely utilized to recover copper metals from copper sulfides and oxides. To better understand the effect of agglomerations behavior on leaching reactions and promote its operating condition, the typical findings of industrial cases, controlling factors and leaching mechanisms are critically reviewed in this study. Specifically, this paper basically discusses three pivotal questions tightly related to the industrial requirements: 1) the process of efficiently obtaining the well-shaped, leachable ore agglomerations via key factors and parameters; 2) the evaluation of the single agglomeration or agglomerated heaps via quality evaluation and procedure controlling; 3) the effect of ore agglomeration on enhanced leaching behavior via mass transfer, dual pore structure and flow behavior. Relied on these typical research progress and breakthroughs, this paper proposed prospect opinions and potential studies that offer a good reference to operation of industrial agglomerated heaps. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study reviews the significance of ore agglomeration for copper metal recovery and the impact of agglomeration behavior on leaching reactions, discussing key factors and parameters, quality evaluation and process control, as well as mass transfer, dual pore structure, and flow behavior.