Peroxides Metals and Mining Solutions

Optimizing Copper Extraction and Processing

Hydrogen peroxide (H2​O2​) is a powerful and versatile oxidizing agent that offers significant advantages in various stages of copper production. Its environmentally friendly profile, breaking down into water and oxygen, makes it a sustainable choice for modern mining operations. We have tailored solutions to enhance efficiency and improve outcomes in the following copper applications:

• Copper Heap Leaching: Utilizing INTEROXⓇ hydrogen peroxide in copper heap leaching processes can significantly accelerate the dissolution of copper from low-grade ores. The main benefits include an increased recovery rate of copper by promoting a more complete and faster oxidation of sulfide mineral and potentially minimizing reagent consumption.
• Copper Flotation: In copper flotation, hydrogen peroxide serves as an effective and selective reagent to improve the separation of copper minerals from gangue material. Its addition can enhance the hydrophobicity of target copper sulfide minerals, leading to improved attachment to air bubbles and consequently higher recovery rates to the flotation concentrate. Hydrogen peroxide can also aid in depressing unwanted iron sulfides, such as pyrite, resulting in a cleaner, higher-grade copper concentrate.
• Copper Smelting: During the copper smelting process, the strategic use of hydrogen peroxide can contribute to more efficient and environmentally sound operations. Hydrogen peroxide is utilized in off-gas treatment to oxidize and remove sulfur dioxide (SO2​), helping operations meet stringent environmental emission standards.
• Copper Rod Pickling: For copper rod pickling applications, hydrogen peroxide provides a highly effective and more environmentally benign alternative to traditional pickling acids. It facilitates the rapid and uniform removal of oxide scales and surface contaminants from copper rods. The use of hydrogen peroxide in pickling solutions can result in a brighter, smoother surface finish, reduced metal loss, and a safer working environment due to less aggressive fumes compared to some conventional acids.

Gold/Silver Leaching & Cyanide Destruction

Peroxygens offer significant advantages in gold and silver leaching operations, enhancing efficiency and environmental compliance.

• Improved Leach Kinetics & Recovery: Supplementing oxygen or air with peroxygens accelerates leach kinetics, leading to increased gold and silver recovery and a reduction in cyanide consumption.
• Enhanced Metal Accessibility: Pre-oxidation of ore with peroxygens makes gold and silver more accessible, improving metal recovery and decreasing cyanide consumption, especially in the presence of reactive sulfide minerals.
• Maintaining Dissolved Oxygen Levels: Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) can be strategically applied throughout the leach circuit, including at the end, to maintain optimal dissolved oxygen (DO) levels, recovering any cyanide-soluble gold or silver present in the tailings.

Cyanide Management

Effective cyanide management is crucial for both operational efficiency and environmental responsibility.

• Cyanide Destruction with Caro's Acid: Caro's acid is an effective solution for destroying cyanide in tailings, ensuring compliance with the stringent requirements of the Cyanide Code.
• Efficient Detoxification: Copper-catalyzed H2O2 provides the most efficient system for destroying cyanide in clear solutions, ideal for detoxifying effluents from heap leach operations.
• Maximizing Gold Recovery: Controlling cyanide levels in recycled water used in flotation plants is key to maximizing gold recovery from sulfide concentrates.

Caro's Acid Technology

Caro's acid presents an innovative and cost-effective solution for cyanide management.

• Cost-Effective On-Site Production: This technology enables the low CAPEX/OPEX on-site and on-demand manufacture of quenched Caro's acid using 70% H2O2 and approximately 96% H2SO4.
• Flexible Application: Caro's acid can be directly added into CN destruction reactor tanks or introduced into the tailings slurry line before slurry pumps, eliminating the need for additional capital investment in reactor tanks.
• High Solids Treatment: It effectively treats slurries with a solid content of up to approximately 65%, maximizing the recycling of cyanide-containing process water back into the leach process.
• Achieving Low Cyanide Levels: Caro's acid is capable of reducing cyanide levels to very low concentrations (less than 0.1 ppm WAD CN).
• Automated and Responsive Control: The technology for generating Caro's acid can be fully automated, and its rapid reaction allows for tighter, more highly responsive process control.

Hydrogen Peroxide use provides benefits for uranium mining industry when applied in the following stages:

• Uranium leaching: conventional acid leaching of uranium ores by sulfuric acid is highly intensified by addition of Hydrogen Peroxide. It results in significant process acceleration and potential increase of uranium recovery rate for in-situ, heap and tank leaching. Alkaline in-situ leaching of porous ore bodies can also benefit from this powerful and environmentally friendly oxidant.
• Uranium precipitation: uranium reacts with hydrogen peroxide to form insoluble uranium peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is very selective for uranium which results in a high purity product. In addition uranium peroxide precipitates as a denser product and is easier to filter in comparison to ammonium diuranate. The subsequent calcination step can be removed in some cases. All this allows process simplification and higher purity final product.