• Leaches base metal sulphides including chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite, millerite, pentlandite, pyrrhotite, violarite, sphalerite and enargite
• Patents filed.
• Major technological advance, with significant market potential and opportunities to add value at the mine gate.
• Potential safely to dispose of arsenic from dissolution of arsenopyrite and enargite.
• Environmentally better; 1t of copper from smelting produces >1.6t slag and >2t SO2

HyperLeach™ – Key Features

• Unlike previous chlorine based processes, HyperLeach™ does not require chlorine gas to operate.
• The oxidant can be generated on-site via industry standard chlor-alkali technology; low reagent consumption.
• Operates at ambient temperatures and pressure and is eminently suitable for heap leaching as well as tank leaching; rapid kinetics.
• Suitable for both low grade heap leaching and higher grade tank leaching; the choice is dictated by the grade and deposit economics.
• Polymetallic deposits can be readily handled using standard solvent extraction and solution purification techniques.

HyperLeach™ – The technology and how it works

• Three major stages; leaching, separation/concentration and recovery.
• The leaching can occur either in a heap or tank and involves contacting the ore/concentrate with a hypochlorite solution at an appropriate concentration.
• Solvent extraction is used to separate and concentrate the metal(s) from solution whilst also changing from a mixed chloride/sulphate media to acid sulphate media, from which most metals can be directly electrowon using industry standard unit operations.
• Key benefits of the HyperLeach™ process are:
  • no special purpose plant required;
  • operates under ambient conditions; and
  • relatively coarse grinds and amenable to heap leaching