US3885017A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Hydrometallurgical leaching
Assignee: Marcona Corp
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Filing: 1973-11-01
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Granted: 1975-05-20
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Expires: 1993-11-01
Abstract
Abstract A process and apparatus for hydrometallurgical leaching of unseparated, crushed mineral ores using a vessel having liquid stream forming nozzles in the lower portion thereof which operate to direct a stream of leaching liquid into solids in the lower portion of the vessel and to create a highly agitated interaction zone above which solids are settling under gravity and through which liquid from the lower portion rises upwardly in countercurrent flow. The vessel is sufficiently high that an overflow of low solids content liquid is taken from the top. Outlets, as for example discharge piping or sumps, are provided in the bottom of the vessel for the controlled removal of solids therefrom. In multistage operation, the solids content of the overflow liquid is removed and the liquid content of the underflow is removed and combined to yield a mineral pregnant liquor which serves as the leaching liquid for a preceding stage where less depleted solids are being processed. Solids removed from a stage are passed to a subsequent stage where less pregnant leaching solution is used, so that the solids not only are processed in each stage in counter-current flow to the leach solution, but the interstage progression of the solids and leaching liquid is also countercurrent. Single stage continuous operation is also disclosed in which solids having passed downwardly through the reactor are discharged periodically through a discharge trap formed in the lower portion of the vessel so as to minimize the amount of liquid discharged with the solids.
Inventors
- 👤 Charles W Robinson
- 👤 Kenneth E Merklin
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 13:05
CPC Classifications
C; C22; C22B; C22B3/00; C22B3/04; B; B01; B01D; B01D11/00; B01D11/02; B01D11/0215; B01D11/0253; B01D11/0257; B01D11/028; B01D11/0284; C22B3/02; Y; Y02; Y02P; Y02P10/00; Y02P10/20
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
244 words
A METHOD FOR LEACHING THE EXTRACTABLE MINERAL VALUES FROM AN ORE HAVING PARTICULATE FORM USING A REACTORVESSEL IN WHICH ORE AND A LEACHING LIQUID ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY PLACED IN CONTACT, COMPRISING THE STEPS OF INTRODUCING THE ORE INTO THE UPPER REGION OF THE REACTOR VESSEL AND SIMULTANEOUSLY INTRODUCING THE EXTRACTING LIQUID INTO A LOWERMOST REGION OF THE VESSEL SUCH THAT THE SOLIDS GRADUALLY MOVE AS A SOLIDS-INCONTACT BED DOWNWARDLY UNDER GRAVITY THROUGH A RISING COLUMN OF EXTRACTING LIQUID TO PROVIDE COUNTER-CURRENT EXTRACTION OF THE VALUES FROM SAID ORE, AND FURTHER COMPRISING THE STEPS OF DIRECTING THE EXTRACTING LIQUID AS A ROTATING AGITATING STREAM IN A REGION GENERALLY PARALLEL TO AND ABOVE THE BOTTOM WALL OF SAID VESSEL, PROGRESSIVELY MOVING SAID STREAM ABOUT SAID LOWER REGION AT A SPEED SUFFICIENT TO CAUSE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGHLY AGITATED REACTION ZONE IN SAID LOWER REGION, THE AGITATION BEING SUFFICIENTLY GREAT THAT CONSTANT INTERMIXING AND RECONTACT IS OBTAINED BETWEEN THE LIQUID AND THE SOLIDS IN SAID ZONE, SIMULTANEOUSLY WITHDRAWING A LIQUID OVERFLOW STREAM FROM THE UPPER REGION AND WITHDRAWING SOLIDS AS UNDERFLOW FROM SAID LOWER REGION OF SAID VESSEL AND, CONTROLLING THE RATE OF SOLIDS WITHDRAWAL SO THAT A SUBSTANTIAL PREDETERMINED HEIGHT OF SOLIDS INTRODUCED INTO THE VESSEL IS MAINTAINED IN AN OVERLYING ZONE OF SOLIDS-IN-CONTACT, SAID OVERLYING ZONE GRADUALLY MOVES DOWNWARDLY TOWARD AND THEN THROUGH SAID AGITIATION ZONE AT A RATE CONTROLLED BY SAID SOLIDS WITHDRAWAL RATE, SAID OVERLYING ZONE BEING IN CONTACT WITH SAID AGITATION ZONE.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
244 words
A METHOD FOR LEACHING THE EXTRACTABLE MINERAL VALUES FROM AN ORE HAVING PARTICULATE FORM USING A REACTORVESSEL IN WHICH ORE AND A LEACHING LIQUID ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY PLACED IN CONTACT, COMPRISING THE STEPS OF INTRODUCING THE ORE INTO THE UPPER REGION OF THE REACTOR VESSEL AND SIMULTANEOUSLY INTRODUCING THE EXTRACTING LIQUID INTO A LOWERMOST REGION OF THE VESSEL SUCH THAT THE SOLIDS GRADUALLY MOVE AS A SOLIDS-INCONTACT BED DOWNWARDLY UNDER GRAVITY THROUGH A RISING COLUMN OF EXTRACTING LIQUID TO PROVIDE COUNTER-CURRENT EXTRACTION OF THE VALUES FROM SAID ORE, AND FURTHER COMPRISING THE STEPS OF DIRECTING THE EXTRACTING LIQUID AS A ROTATING AGITATING STREAM IN A REGION GENERALLY PARALLEL TO AND ABOVE THE BOTTOM WALL OF SAID VESSEL, PROGRESSIVELY MOVING SAID STREAM ABOUT SAID LOWER REGION AT A SPEED SUFFICIENT TO CAUSE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGHLY AGITATED REACTION ZONE IN SAID LOWER REGION, THE AGITATION BEING SUFFICIENTLY GREAT THAT CONSTANT INTERMIXING AND RECONTACT IS OBTAINED BETWEEN THE LIQUID AND THE SOLIDS IN SAID ZONE, SIMULTANEOUSLY WITHDRAWING A LIQUID OVERFLOW STREAM FROM THE UPPER REGION AND WITHDRAWING SOLIDS AS UNDERFLOW FROM SAID LOWER REGION OF SAID VESSEL AND, CONTROLLING THE RATE OF SOLIDS WITHDRAWAL SO THAT A SUBSTANTIAL PREDETERMINED HEIGHT OF SOLIDS INTRODUCED INTO THE VESSEL IS MAINTAINED IN AN OVERLYING ZONE OF SOLIDS-IN-CONTACT, SAID OVERLYING ZONE GRADUALLY MOVES DOWNWARDLY TOWARD AND THEN THROUGH SAID AGITIATION ZONE AT A RATE CONTROLLED BY SAID SOLIDS WITHDRAWAL RATE, SAID OVERLYING ZONE BEING IN CONTACT WITH SAID AGITATION ZONE.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 1 further including crushing the ore to top size of about - 3/8 inch and supplying the ore so crushed for introduction to the vessel without further subdivision or classification.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
72 words
The method of claim 1 further including the steps of removing the leaching liquor from said vessel after recovery of the values, washing the solids to recover the residual leaching liquor, subsequently removing the washed solids by introducing a liquid as a high velocity jet stream in the lowermost region in the vessel to thereby pulp the solids into a pumpable slurry, and continuously removing said slurry as formed from the vessel.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
85 words
The method of claim 1 further including the steps of removing the leaching liquid from the vessel when the mineral values have been recovered to leave at least partially depleted solids in the vessel, and subsequently removing the solids by directing a liquid jet stream into the lowermost region of the vessel and progressively moving said jet stream, the impact of the stream causing formation of a flowable slurry of said solids, and simultaneously removing freshly formed slurry continuously through the bottom of said vessel.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
58 words
The method of claim 1 further including the additional steps of periodically withdrawing a quantity of solids from the bottom of said reactor with a minimum of liquid and periodically introducing a quantity of gas into the bottom region of said reactor, said gas rising upwardly through said vessel to thereby agitate the bed of material contained therein.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 1 in which the height of said continuous solids bed is maintained at a predetermined level so that the bed fills the major portion of the reaction vessel.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 6 Together with the step of automatically controlling the height at said predetermined level by providing an overlying ore supply with gravity feed and choking said supply at said level.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1 in which the rotating agitating stream sweeps progressively radially outwardly from a vertical axis.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
83 words
The method of claim 6 in which the rate of solids withdrawal is controlled by use of a discharge volume determining pipe having an inlet valve and outlet valve, comprising the additional steps of opening said inlet valve with said outlet valve in a closed position to load said pipe section, subsequently closing said inlet valve and opening said outlet valve to discharge a predetermined quantity of solids, and repeating said additional steps in sequence to periodically fill and empty the pipe section.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-05-19 | 1978-11-18 | 1979-05-20 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-05-19 | 1982-11-18 | 1983-05-20 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-05-19 | 1986-11-18 | 1987-05-20 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |