Tank bioleaching of copper from combined flotation concentrate and smelter dust

Bioleaching studies were conducted to evaluate the extraction of copper from combined flotation concentrate and smelter dust using two different dust-addition strategies, non-fractional (simultaneously with concentrate) and fractional (step-wise dust addition) in stirred tank reactors. The highest copper extraction obtained with the fractional dust addition was up to 94% while extraction using the non-fractional method leveled off at approximately 44%. Thus, an increased copper recovery of about 50% was achieved with the fractional dust-addition method. It seems that the main reason for increased copper recovery using fractional dust addition could be the control and prevention of chalcopyrite passivation (according to SEM/EDS, XRD, and quantitative mineralogy data). This leads to its improved dissolution.

► In this research, copper bioleaching from combined flotation concentrate and smelter dust was investigated.
► A couple of bioleaching methods were investigated in this work: fractional and non-fractional dust-addition strategies.
► The highest copper extraction obtained with the fractional dust-addition was up to 94%.
► The extraction using the non-fractional method leveled off at approximately 44%.