An Integrated Process for Innovative Extraction of Metals from Kupferschiefer Mine Dumps, Germany

Dumps in the Central German Mansfeld mining district have been investigated by a multi-disciplinary research team to develop a holistic concept for the recovery of base and trace metals from low-grade Kupferschiefer ore. Geochemical and mineralogical data from representative sampling indicate that the low-grade Kupferschiefer dumps contain significant amounts of Cu (0.6 %) and Ag (up to 800 ppm), besides exploitable grades of Pb and Zn. Additionally to flotation and hydrometallurgy, first shake flask bioleaching experiments on otherwise untreated Kupferschiefer ore yield Cu recovery rates of up to 95 %. A total of 900 t Cu and 5 t Ag contained in black copper can thus be produced from the pilot dump of 100 000 m3 low-grade Kupferschiefer ore. Additionally, large volumes of limestone waste, separated from the dumps by sensor-based sorting, can be utilized as aggregate in the construction industry.

[1]  S. Oszczepalski,et al.  Geochemical characteristics across the oxic/anoxic interface (Rote Fäule front) within the Kupferschiefer of the Lubin-Sieroszowice mining district (SW Poland) , 2002 .

[2]  Fathi Habashi,et al.  A Textbook of Hydrometallurgy, 2nd edition , 1999 .

[3]  W. Püttmann,et al.  The possible role of organic matter in transport and accumulation of metals exemplified at the Permian Kupferschiefer formation , 1991 .

[4]  M. Glikson,et al.  Organic matter and mineralisation: thermal alteration, hydrocarbon generation and role in metallogenesis , 2000 .

[5]  Jeffrey W. Hedenquist,et al.  Geology and Genesis of Major Copper Deposits and Districts of the World , 2012 .

[6]  S. Oszczepalski,et al.  Origin of the Kupferschiefer polymetallic mineralization in Poland , 1999 .

[7]  S. Braley,et al.  A medium for the study of the bacterial oxidation of ferrous iron. , 1951, Science.

[8]  J. Mucha,et al.  The red-bed-type precious metal deposit in the Sieroszowice-Polkowice copper mining district, SW Poland , 2008 .

[9]  Adam Głuszek,et al.  Redbed-type gold mineralisation, Kupferschiefer, south-west Poland , 2002 .

[10]  Richard B. Wanty,et al.  Vanadium accumulation in carbonaceous rocks: A review of geochemical controls during deposition and diagenesis , 1991 .

[11]  Asit K. Biswas,et al.  Extractive metallurgy of copper , 1976 .

[12]  Zhenghe Xu,et al.  Fundamental study of reactive oily-bubble flotation , 2002 .

[13]  Z. Sadowski,et al.  Identification of metalloporphyrins extracted from the copper bearing black shale of Fore Sudetic Monocline (Poland) , 2006 .

[14]  W. J. Trahar,et al.  The flotability of very fine particles — A review , 1976 .