Heap leaching

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10815550-B2
Application number	US-201816113400-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 27, 2018
Priority date	Nov 15, 2012
Publication date	Oct 27, 2020
Grant date	Oct 27, 2020

Abstract

A heap of a material to be leached to recover a valuable metal from the material includes an electromagnetic heating system to generate heat in situ in the heap.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A heap of a material to be leached to recover a valuable metal from the material, the heap including an electromagnetic heating system to generate heat in situ in the heap, wherein the electromagnetic heating system includes a shield to confine electromagnetic radiation within the heap, and wherein the shield is in the form of metal mesh on the outside of the heap that acts as a Faraday cage that prevents electromagnetic radiation being transmitted outside the heap.

2. The heap defined in claim 1 wherein the electromagnetic heating system is operable to heat a leach liquor and minerals containing a valuable metal throughout at least 90% of the heap.

3. The heap defined in claim 1 wherein the material is a sulphidic ore containing a valuable metal.

4. The heap defined in claim 3 wherein the metal is copper.

5. The heap defined in claim 1 wherein the electromagnetic heating system is in the form of a system for exposing the heap to radio frequency radiation to generate heat in situ in the heap.

6. The heap defined in claim 5 wherein the system for exposing the heap to radio frequency radiation includes a series of spaced-apart electrodes positioned in the heap and an electrical source connected to the electrodes that is operable to generate currents that oscillate at radio frequencies.

7. The heap defined in claim 6 wherein the electrodes are arranged to extend vertically into the heap.

8. The heap defined in claim 5 wherein the system for exposing the heap to radio frequency radiation is operable to selectively heat leach liquor in the heap.

9. The heap defined in claim 5 wherein the material in the heap includes sulphidic copper-containing ore with chalcopyrite as a copper-containing mineral in the ore and the system for exposing the heap to radio frequency radiation is operable to heat heap liquor to at least 50° C.

10. The heap defined in claim 5 wherein the material in the heap includes sulphidic copper-containing ore with chalcopyrite as a copper-containing mineral in the ore and the system for exposing the heap to radio frequency radiation is operable to heat heap liquor to less than 85° C.

11. A heap of a material to be leached to recover a valuable metal from the material, the heap including an electromagnetic heating system in the form of a system for exposing the heap to radio frequency radiation to generate heat in situ in the heap.

12. The heap defined in claim 11 wherein the system for exposing the heap to radio frequency radiation is operable to selectively a heat leach liquor in the heap.

13. The heap defined in claim 11 wherein the material in the heap includes a sulphidic copper-containing ore with chalcopyrite as a copper-containing mineral in the ore and the system for exposing the heap to radio frequency radiation is operable to heat a heap liquor to at least 50° C.

14. The heap defined in claim 11 wherein the material in the heap includes sulphidic copper-containing ore with chalcopyrite as a copper-containing mineral in the ore and the system for exposing the heap to electromagnetic radiation is operable to heat a heap liquor to less than 85° C.

15. The heap defined in claim 5 wherein the radio frequency radiation is in a lower frequency end of the radio frequency radiation band of radiation.

16. The heap defined in claim 15 wherein the lower frequency end of the radio frequency radiation band of radiation is 5-45 MHz.

17. The heap defined in claim 11 wherein the electromagnetic heating system is operable to heat a leach liquor and minerals containing a valuable metal throughout at least 90% of the heap.

18. The heap defined in claim 11 wherein the radio frequency radiation is in a lower frequency end of the radio frequency radiation band of radiation.

19. The heap defined in claim 18 wherein the lower frequency end of the radio frequency radiation band of radiation is 5-45 MHz.

20. The heap defined in claim 11 wherein the system for exposing the heap to radio frequency radiation includes a series of spaced-apart electrodes positioned in the heap and an electrical source connected to the electrodes that is operable to generate currents that oscillate at radio frequencies.

21. The heap defined in claim 20 wherein the electrodes are arranged to extend vertically into the heap.

22. The heap defined in claim 11 wherein the electromagnetic heating system includes a shield to confine the radio frequency radiation within the heap.

23. The heap defined in claim 22 wherein the shield is in the form of metal mesh on the outside of the heap that acts as a Faraday cage that prevents electromagnetic radiation being transmitted outside the heap.

24. The heap defined in claim 11 wherein the material is a sulphidic ore containing a valuable metal.

25. The heap defined in claim 24 wherein the metal is copper.

Assignees

• Tech Resources Pty Ltd

Inventors

• Dimitrakis Georgios
• Kingman Samuel
• Palade Paula
• Batchelor Andrew
• Jones Aled
• Wellwood Grant Ashley
• Goodes Christopher Geoffrey
• Katrib Juliano
• Dodds Christopher

Classifications

• Y02P10/20

  Recycling · CPC title

• C22B3/02 Primary

  Apparatus therefor · CPC title

• H05B6/64

  Heating using microwaves {(containers, packaging elements or packages specially adapted to be heated by microwaves B65D81/3446)} · CPC title

• C22B3/06

  in inorganic acid solutions {, e.g. with acids generated in situ; in inorganic salt solutions other than ammonium salt solutions} · CPC title

• C22B3/08

  Sulfuric acid {, other sulfurated acids or salts thereof} · CPC title