Technical Details

  • 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 TM 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 TM process are:
    • no special purpose plant required;
    • operates under ambient conditions; and
    • relatively coarse grinds and amenable to heap leaching