PROCESSES FOR RECOVERING METALS FROM ORES USING ORGANIC SOLVENT EXTRACTION AND AQUEOUS STRIPPING AT SELECTED TEMPERATURE DIFFERENTIALS

摘要

The disclosed invention concerns a process comprising: (a) providing a pregnant leach solution comprising copper values; (b) contacting the pregnant leach solution with an organic phase comprising a copper extractant at an extraction temperature, T_ext,to form a loaded organic phase comprising the metal values; (c) contacting the loaded organic phase with an aqueous stripping solution at a stripping temperature, T_strip, to form a copper-enriched stripping solution; wherein the difference in temperature (?T) between the stripping temperature and the extraction temperature according to equation (I): ?T = T_strip - T_ext is less than or equal to about 10°C. In other increasingly more preferred embodiments of the invention, the difference in temperature (?T) is less than or equal to about 5°C, less than or equal to about 2.5°C, less than or equal to about 0°C, less than or equal to about -5°C, and less than or equal to about -10°C. Also disclosed are economic means to manipulate the extraction, strip, and electrowinning temperatures to achieve these temperature differentials.