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HYDROMETALLURGY
This page intentionally left blank
HYDROMETALLURGY
Practice

Volume 2

MICHAEL NICOL
Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia

with contributions by

NICHOLAS WELHAM
GAMINI SENANAYAKE
Elsevier
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The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, United Kingdom
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This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under
copyright by the Publisher (other than as may be noted herein).

Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research
and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods,
professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.

Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and
knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or
experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be
mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they
have a professional responsibility.

To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or
editors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a
matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of
any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.

ISBN: 978-0-323-99214-5

For information on all Elsevier publications visit our website

at https://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals

Publisher: Candice Janco

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Typeset by TNQ Technologies

Contents

1 Leaching practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Leaching methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Typical leaching processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Batch leaching kinetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4 Continuous leachingdmicro- and macrofluids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.5 Counter-current leaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.6 Bacterial oxidation and leaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.7 Pressure leaching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.8 Heap leaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
1.9 In situ leaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1.10 Leaching of gold and silver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
1.11 Alternative lixiviants for gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
1.12 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Problemsdleaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Case study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Appendix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Further reading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

2 Solideliquid separation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
2.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
2.2 Sedimentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
2.3 Thickeners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
2.4 Filtration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
2.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Further reading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Case study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
vi Contents

3 Precipitation and crystallization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

3.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
3.2 Thermodynamics of precipitation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
3.3 Iron removal from zinc sulfate solutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
3.4 Kinetics of precipitation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
3.5 Dissolutioneprecipitation processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
3.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Case study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

4 Solvent extraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

4.1 A typical SX process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
4.2 Chemistry of SX processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
4.3 Extraction methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
4.4 Common SX contactors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
4.5 Some SX processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
4.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Case study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Further reading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

5 Adsorption and ion exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

5.1 Ion-exchange resins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
5.2 Speciality resins and adsorbents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
5.3 Ion-exchange equilibria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
5.4 Ion-exchange kinetics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
5.5 Ion-exchange processes and equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
5.6 Process examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
5.7 Quantitative description of fixed-bed processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
5.8 Mass transport parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
 Contents vii

5.9 Modeling of breakthrough. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

5.10 The resin (carbon)-in-pulp process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
5.11 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Case study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Appendix 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Appendix 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Appendix 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Appendix 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

6 Cementation and reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

6.1 Cementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
6.2 Reduction by dissolved gas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
6.3 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

7 Electrowinning and electrorefining of metals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

7.1 General considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
7.2 Mass transfer at vertical electrodes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
7.3 Electrocrystallization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
7.4 Current distribution in cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
7.5 Materials for cells and electrodes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
7.6 Tankhouse current distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
7.7 Energy consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
7.8 Electrorefining of metals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
7.9 Electrowinning of copper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
7.10 Electrowinning of zinc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
7.11 Electrowinning of nickel and cobalt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
7.12 Electrowinning of manganese metal and dioxide . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
viii Contents

7.13 Electrowinning in novel cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362

7.14 Economic optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
7.15 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Case study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Further reading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

8 Process selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395

8.1 Process selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Further reading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400

Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Leaching practice
1
The chemistry of processes aimed at the dissolution of
valuable metals from various feed materials was covered in
Chapter 6 in Volume 1. In this chapter, the various methods
employed to carry out the leaching reactions will be outlined
The choice of a particular leach process and the equipment to
be used depends on the performance that can be achieved by the
various options. The main factors to be taken into account in
assessing leach performance are the following.
• Degree of dissolution of desired species.
• Selectivity of leaching process with respect to the desired
species.
• Leaching time required to achieve the desired extraction.
• Operating cost (lixiviants, power).
• Capital cost.
There is generally an economic optimum that determines the
most appropriate strategy for leaching. Thus, for the leaching of
gold ores, the objective should be to maximize extraction given
that operating costs are generally not high relative to the value
of the product. On the other hand, in the case of the leaching
of low-grade copper ores, the operating costs are the most impor-
tant consideration and heap leaching is the only viable option.
Even in this case, high acid consumption can rule out heap leach-
ing for some ores.

1.1 Leaching methods

The techniques shown next are applied in the leaching of ores
and concentrates.
In situ leaching: Lixiviant pumped directly into fractured ore-
body and pregnant solution recovered.

Hydrometallurgy. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-99214-5.00006-1
Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1
2 Chapter 1 Leaching practice

Heap (or dump) leaching: Lixiviant sprinkled over heaps of

mined (crushed) ore in heaps built over the impervious base.

Vat leaching: Crushed ore fills a large vat that is then filled with
lixiviant and left to leach. A batch process that is not very
common.
 Chapter 1 Leaching practice 3

Agitation leaching: Milled ore contacted with lixiviant in

agitated tanks (mechanical or air sparging). Batch or multistage
continuous reactors.

Pressure leaching: Milled ore or concentrate contacted with lixi-

viant in high-pressure, high-temperature reactors (autoclaves)
that are generally operated in continuous mode.

Bacterial leaching: A variation of heap or agitation leaching in

which bacteria assist in the leaching reactions.
Some of the more important practical methods used to
dissolve or leach valuable components of an ore, concentrate,
or other intermediate product are summarized in Fig. 1.1. The
actual method to be adopted depends largely on the value of
the material to be treated with low-grade materials requiring
methods to the left and high grade materials to the right of the
diagram.

1.2 Typical leaching processes

The dissolution of a solid species is a chemical reaction that
can be classified into one of several types such as acid leaching
4 Chapter 1 Leaching practice

Ore
Lix. Lix.

In-Situ Heaps Crush Crush Crush

Lix.

Vat Grind Grind

Lix.

Tank Treat
Lix.

Tank

Months to Years Days Mins to hours

Increasing value of material leached

Figure 1.1 Selection of leaching method with grade of feed material.

and oxidative leaching as outlined in Chapter 6 in Volume 1. The

chemistry that is possible in the dissolution of a solid is often exten-
sive and varied and depends on the ingenuity of the researcher.
However, practical considerations determined largely by the cost
of the lixiviant have restricted the choice of the leaching process.
Table 1.1 summarizes some of the more important leaching
processes that are in operation in various parts of the world.
The design and operation of leaching processes are critically
dependent on an understanding and application of the kinetics
of the reactions taking place in leach reactors. In the following
sections, we will show how kinetic information can be used to
describe how we can design and operate a leaching process.

1.3 Batch leaching kinetics

In Chapter 6 in Volume 1, we dealt with the expected profiles
for the leaching of particles for several cases in which the
 Chapter 1 Leaching practice 5

Table 1.1 Some leaching processes in operation.

Feed Lixiviant Oxidant Temp. Pressure Equipment

Oxidized Cu ore Dil H2SO4 None Ambient Atmos. Heaps
Sulfide Cu ore Dil H2SO4 Ferric, bacteria Ambient Atmos. Heaps
Cu, Ni, Co, Zn Dil H2SO4 Ferric, oxygen >100 C 1e10 bar. Tanks,
concentrates, autoclaves
mattes
Zinc calcine Dil H2SO4 None 40e90 C Atmos. Tanks
Ni matte Dil HCl Ferric, cupric <100 C Atmos. Tanks
Ni laterite ore Dil H2SO4 None 250 C 50 bar. Autoclaves
Reduced laterite ore NH3/CO2 Air, Cu(II) 40e80 C Atmos. Tanks
Uranium ore Dil H2SO4 Ferric þ MnO2 40e50 C Atmos. Tanks, in situ
Oxidized gold ore NaCN Air Ambient Atmos. Heaps, tanks
Refractory Au ore, H2SO4/NaCN Ferric/Air 150e200 C/Ambient 30e40bar/Atmos Autoclaves/
concentrates tanks
Bauxite NaOH None 150e200 C 20e40 bar Autoclaves
Roasted V ore Water None 50e90 C Atmos. Tanks, columns
Scheelite Soda ash None 200 C 40 bar Autoclaves
Roasted Li ores Dil H2SO4 None <100 C Atmos. Tanks

rate-determining step is either mass transport or chemical reac-

tion. In many real cases (see later) involving ores and, to a lesser
extent, concentrates, the curve of fraction leached versus time
does not conform to any of the theoretical forms. Under these
conditions, we have to resort to empirical rate equations.
Consider the leaching of a typical gold ore for which the
following rate equation has often been found to describe the
rate of dissolution of gold from cyanide pulp,

2

d½Au=dt ¼ k ½Au
½Auf (1.1)

in which [Au] is the concentration (mass gold/unit mass of pulp)

at any time, t, and [Au]f is the corresponding concentration after
an infinite time, that is, it is the ultimate achievable barren con-
centration (mainly “locked gold” not accessible to the lixiviant).
k is a rate constant.
This equation can be integrated to give,



1= ½Au
½Auf
1= ½Auo
½Auf ¼ kt (1.2)
6 Chapter 1 Leaching practice

where [Au]o is the initial concentration. This equation can be writ-

ten in the form
X ¼ K0 t=ð1 þ K0 tÞ (1.3)

in which k0 ¼ k([Au]o
[Au]f) and X ¼ ([Au]
[Au]f)/([Au]o
[Au]f) is

the fraction of gold leached.
The parameters [Au]f and k can be obtained from a small-scale
batch leach carried out under typical envisaged plant conditions
of pulp density, cyanide concentration, and pH. For example,
the time required to achieve a 50% dissolution of gold from a
batch of pulp for which [Au]o ¼ 5 g/t, [Au]f ¼ 0.2 g/t, and
k ¼ 0.05/h, will be given by
t ¼ fð1 = 2.3
1 = 4.8Þg=0.05 ¼ 4.5h
In a practical situation, the time required to fill and empty the
batch reactor will have to be added to the actual leaching time.
This generally is most efficient with large reactors.
Thus, for a batch leach plant to treat 100 t/h of the above pulp
in a tank that can hold 950 t (for comparison with a later sectiond
see Appendix) of pulp, the leach time will be 4.5 h, which will leave
4.5 h for charging and discharging the tank, that is, an average
pulp flow-rate of 420 t/h during these operations.
Notice that in the case of a batch reactor, all of the ore parti-
cles are exposed to the lixiviant for the same leaching period.
Batch leaching is seldom used in practice except for relatively
small-scale operations such as, for example, the dissolution of a
precious metal concentrate (gold and/or platinum group metals)
in, for example, a chlorine/chloride system. The requirement for
accurate accounting of the metal in various stages of processing
is also considerably simplified in batch processing. The formation
of metastable species in solution (such as hydrated silica) may
also be controlled more appropriately in a batch rather than in
a continuous reactor.

1.4 Continuous leachingdmicro- and

macrofluids
In continuous leaching, the ore, concentrate, or other material
containing the metal or mineral to be leached (generally as a
slurry) and the lixiviant are fed continuously into a stirred tank
reactor (CSTR) and the leached slurry discharged continuously
generally into another reactor in series.
 Chapter 1 Leaching practice 7

The analysis of the performance of this type of reactor de-

pends on the nature of the fluid. Microfluids consist of solutions
such that one cannot distinguish one molecule of a solute, such as
an ion or solvent molecule from another. Thus, in a CSTR treating
a microfluid, all reactants are at their exit (i.e., low) concentra-
tions, reactants entering are immediately diluted to exit concen-
trations by perfect mixing, and the reactions, therefore,
take place at a relatively low rate, as dictated by the reactant con-
centrations. The flow of a microfluid is often characterized as
nonsegregated.
On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 1.2, macrofluids consist of
suspensions of particles each of which is distinguishable and each
of which is an aggregate (crystal in some cases) of a large number
of atoms or molecules. Thus, for example, a particle of ore sus-
pended in a slurry will behave in a CSTR in the same way as a
batch reactor. Thus, the reactant concentrations (in the solid
phase) do not immediately drop to a low value but decrease as
they would in a batch reactor and the extent of reaction in each
of the ore particles in the reactor depends only on the length of
stay (residence time) in the reactor. This is equally true for any
particle in the exit stream. Thus, the fractional conversion in the
exit stream is determined by summing the conversions of all the
particles (Population Balance Method). This is an example of
segregated flow.
Thus, in a CSTR treating a slurry, the solution phase would
behave as a microfluid and the solid phase as a macrofluid.
Thus, in an ideal CSTR in which all particles of the above gold
ore have the same residence time tR (¼ Vol. of reactor/Volumetric
flowrate of slurry), the performance would be identical to that of
the batch reactor discussed earlier.

Figure 1.2 Schematic to distinguish between microfluid (left) and macrofluid (right).
8 Chapter 1 Leaching practice

1.4.1 Residence time distribution in a CSTR

In an ideal completely mixed reactor vessel, an entering fluid
element is instantaneously broken up into tiny fragments that are
uniformly distributed throughout the volume of the vessel. Some
of these fluid fragments are immediately drawn into the effluent
stream while others circulate within the vessel for various lengths
of time before finding their way out. Thus, at any instant, the
reactor effluent is composed of fluid particles that have spent
various lengths of time in the vessel. In contrast, every fluid
element entering a plug flow vessel follows the element that
entered before it without any intermixing and exits the reactor
in exactly the same order. At any instant then, the exit stream is
made up of fluid elements, all of which have been resident in
the reactor for exactly the same length of time. The time spent
in the reactor by a fluid element is called its exit age. The distribu-
tion of exit ages of all fluid fragments in the reactor effluent is
called the residence time distribution (RTD) and is indicative of
the mixing and flow distribution patterns within the reactor.
In theory, in a “perfectly mixed tank”, the residence times
cover the whole range from zero to infinity, although the average
or mean residence time (tR) is the same as for batch treatment,
namely the mass of pulp in the tank divided by the mass flowrate.
Mixing theory shows that the way to overcome the “short-
circuiting” that occurs in a single tank is to divide the same total
volume or mass among a number of tanks in seriesdthe more
tanks there are in series, the higher will be the proportion of
pulp that will have a residence time close to the mean value.
For the mean residence time, tR ¼ V/Q, in which V is the vol-
ume of fluid in the tank and Q the volumetric flowrate, the actual
residence time/mean residence time ¼ t/tR ¼ q.
The residence time distribution function, E(q), is the relative
proportion of the discharge pulp having a residence time be-
tween q and q þ dq. That is, E(q).dq is the fraction of the exit
stream of age between q and qþdq.
For an ideal plug flow reactor, the expected RTD function, E(q)
is shown as the vertical arrow in Fig. 1.3.
On the other hand, for a completely mixed (CSTR) reactor,
1
EðqÞ ¼ expð
qÞ (1.4)
tR
A graphical representation of the expected RTD function for a
completely mixed vessel is shown in Fig. 1.3.
Consider a number of i mixed tanks in series that are assumed
to be completely mixed and to each have the same volume. Thus,
 Chapter 1 Leaching practice 9

0.8

0.6

θ)
E(θ
0.4

0.2

0
0 1 2 3
θ
Figure 1.3 Residence time distribution for a single CSTR.

if the total vessel volume is V, each tank has volume Vi ¼ (V/N).

The RTD function for this situation can be derived and is given by
NN
$e
ðNqÞ
N
1
EðqÞ [ ½q (1.5)
ðN
1Þ!
A family of RTD curves for a number of tanks in series is
shown in Fig. 1.4.
The fraction of fluid that has a residence time between q1
and q2 is given by that area under the curve between q1 and q2
relative to the total area under the curve. These values are shown
in Table 1.2 for several intervals.

Figure 1.4 Residence time distributions for tanks in series.

10 Chapter 1 Leaching practice

Table 1.2 Fraction of fluid with various residence times.

Reactors, N 1 2 3 5 10
Mean t/s Range t/s Fraction Fraction Fraction Fraction Fraction
0.1 0e0.2 0.1814 0.0596 0.0248 0.0046 0.0001
0.3 0.2e0.4 0.1485 0.1286 0.0967 0.0499 0.0094
0.5 0.4e0.6 0.1216 0.1457 0.1480 0.1314 0.0773
0.7 0.6e0.8 0.0996 0.1375 0.1604 0.1853 0.1979
0.9 0.8e1.0 0.0815 0.1189 0.1463 0.1876 0.2563
1.1 1.0e1.2 0.0667 0.0976 0.1204 0.1552 0.2148
1.3 1.2e1.4 0.0546 0.0774 0.0926 0.1122 0.1334
1.5 1.4e1.6 0.0447 0.0599 0.0678 0.0736 0.0667
1.7 1.6e1.8 0.0366 0.0456 0.0479 0.0449 0.0283
1.9 1.8e2.0 0.0300 0.0342 0.0329 0.0259 0.0106
2.1 2.0e2.2 0.0246 0.0253 0.0221 0.0142 0.0036
2.3 2.2e2.4 0.0201 0.0186 0.0145 0.0076 0.0011
2.5 2.4e2.6 0.0165 0.0136 0.0094 0.0039 0.0003
2.7 2.6e2.8 0.0135 0.0098 0.0060 0.0020 0.0001
2.9 2.8e3.0 0.0110 0.0054 0.0012 0.0003 0.0000
>3.0 0.0490 0.0224 0.0089 0.0015 0.0000

It is apparent that as the number of tanks increases, the distri-

bution of residence times becomes sharper with a larger fraction
of the pulp having a residence time close to tR.
For a reaction in the tank that is a first-order process, it can
be shown that no error is introduced by assuming that all parti-
cles have the same (mean) residence time. This is not true for any
other reaction order (see Appendix for details).
The situation with reactions involving solid particles is further
complicated by the fact that a pulp invariably contains solids with
a nonuniform particle size distribution, probable different
shapes, and even a distribution of reactivities. Thus, Fig. 1.5
shows a mineral liberation analyzer picture of the gold particles
(blue) in a typical gold concentrate produced by gravity
separation.
Thus, one could expect to find a distribution of residence
times, particle sizes, shapes, and reactivity such as shown in
Fig. 1.6.
It is not difficult to visualize that the larger particles will prob-
ably have a longer residence time in the tank and may, if large
 Chapter 1 Leaching practice 11

Figure 1.5 Distribution of particle sizes and shapes in a gold (blue (dark gray in print)) concentrate. The green
particles (light gray in print) are pyrite.

Fraction
Within
Each
Class

Particle size, shape, reactivity

Figure 1.6 Schematic distribution of various characteristics of ore/concentrate particles.

enough, settle in the bottom of the tank while the fine particles
will probably have a shorter mean residence time. This effect
will, in part, act to compensate for the normal RTD in that we
want the larger particles to have a longer residence time. For
this reason, the complications caused by the RTD effect are often
ignored.
In a real agitated tank reactor, however, there is often a degree
of short-circuiting of the pulp due to inefficient blending of the
incoming pulp with the contents of the tank coupled to inappro-
priate positioning of the feed and exit points. The settling of
larger particles can also often result in a significant fraction of
12 Chapter 1 Leaching practice

the tank volume being unavailable for reaction. This is, as ex-
pected, more prevalent in the first tank in a series and the peri-
odic use of tracer tests to establish the active volume of the
tank will enable this problem to be highlighted.
It is apparent that a full treatment of the kinetics of leaching
of a real ore or concentrate will require information on the parti-
cle size distribution. Given all the previously mentioned compli-
cations when dealing with real leach systems, the added
complexity of the population balance models cannot generally
be justified. The Appendix outlines the application of conven-
tional CSTR theory for the treatment of leaching reactions
bearing in mind the previously mentioned problems in particu-
late systems.

1.5 Counter-current leaching

The previously mentioned leaching processes involve cocur-
rent flow of the ore or concentrate and the lixiviant. While this
is often a convenient method of operating, greater efficiencies
in terms of overall leaching recovery and maximum utilization
of the lixiviant can be accomplished by contacting the lixiviant
with the ore in a counter-current fashion. Thus,
• Maximum extraction is achieved by contacting a leach residue
with fresh, concentrated lixiviant.
• Maximum utilization of the lixiviant can be achieved by con-
tacting fresh, reactive ore or concentrate with lixiviant that
has already been used in a prior stage.
Thus, consider the real example shown in Fig. 1.7 of a three-
stage leaching circuit for a zinc calcine that is designed to
maximize zinc recovery and utilize all the lixiviant while still mini-
mizing the dissolution of iron by limiting the pH to values above 3
in the first stage leach and providing a solution of the desired
composition for purification before electrowinning.
As this is the first example of a typical hydrometallurgical flow-
sheet, it is worth spending some time on the details. Ignore in the
first instance the operations shown in dashed linesdthese are
used to bleed iron from the circuit and are not essential in terms
of counter-current leaching and we shall return to this section
later. In terms of overall leaching in one stage, one is simply
reacting the calcine with acid in the spent electrolyte from elec-
trowinning that contains excess acid generated at the anode dur-
ing electrowinning. However, in this case, in the first leach stage,
the calcine is contacted with (a) solution from the second stage
leach that contains excess acid and zinc dissolved in the first
 Chapter 1 Leaching practice 13

Calcine

1st Stage Leach, 50oC, pH 4

Spent L
Electrolyte SLL

2nd Stage Leach, 80oC, 10 g/L acid Calcine, NH 4+

L
SLLL

L
3rd Stage Leach, 80oC, 50 g/L acid SLL

S
LLL Residues

Figure 1.7 A three-stage counter-current leaching process for zinc calcine.

stage and (b) small amounts of spent electrolyte to control the pH

of the solution leaving the first stage. The pulp leaving the first
stage is filtered (or settled) to separate the solution from the
leach residue. The solution now contains up to 200 g/L zinc
and is sent to the purification stage of the plant and thereafter
to electrowinning.
The solid residue from the first stage still contains zinc and is
subjected to leaching under more extreme conditions to dissolve
most of the residual zinc. The solution used to dissolve this zinc is
made up of a solution from the third stage leach and some spent
electrolyte. The pulp from this stage is subjected to solid/liquid
separation and the solution is routed to the first stage and a small
amount is sent for iron removal. The solid from this second stage
is the feed to the third stage in which any residual refractory zinc
is dissolved at high temperature and acidity using the spent elec-
trolyte. After solid/liquid separation, the solution phase is used in
the second stage leach, and the solid is washed and reported as
the final residue.
While this approach is efficient in terms of leaching, the intro-
duction of a solid/liquid step between each counter-current stage
introduces an additional unit operation that can be both ineffi-
cient and costly for pulps that are difficult to filter or settle. The
14 Chapter 1 Leaching practice

introduction of additional water for washing the filter cakes

further complicates the process. For this reason, counter-
current leaching is not applied as widely as may be anticipated.

1.6 Bacterial oxidation and leaching

Bioleaching is the extraction of a metal from sulfide ores or
concentrates using microorganisms that catalyze the oxidation
of sulfide minerals. An associated process is biooxidation in which
sulfide minerals associated with but not necessarily part of the
mineral of interest is oxidized or dissolved. In biooxidation of re-
fractory gold ores, bacteria are used to solubilize an iron sulfide in
which the gold particles are located and thus make the gold avail-
able for cyanide leaching. Likewise, in coal desulfurization, bacte-
ria are used to oxidize the pyrite contaminant in the coal thus
making the sulfur soluble as ferric sulfate.
Bioleaching is used today in commercial operations to process
ores of copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc, and uranium; whereas, bio-
oxidation is used in gold processing and coal desulfurization.
Since bioleaching is a natural process, an undesirable effect is
the creation of so-called acid drainage from the slow oxidation
of sulfide mineral outcrops and from abandoned tailings dumps.
Bioleach processing differs depending on the type of resource
to be processed.
Dump leachingdwaste rock, low-grade ore, or concentrator
tailings (low grade, oxides, and secondary sulfides) are leached
from waste dumps.
Heap leachingdnewly mined run-of-the-mine (ROM) material
(intermediate grade, oxides, and secondary sulfides) is placed as a
heap on an impervious natural surface or a pad and leached. ROM
may be leached as mined or may be partially crushed and mixed
with acid before depositing on the heap.
Agitated leachingdconcentrates are leached in a tank using
mechanical agitation.
Waste dump leaching uses mesophilic (ambient temperature,
35e45 C) microorganisms, that is, bacteria. Heap leaching of
ore may involve mesophiles or moderate thermophiles (high tem-
perature, 50e60 C) microorganisms. Leaching of chalcopyrite
and other primary sulfide concentrates requires extreme thermo-
philes (>70 C). A photograph of thiobacillus ferrooxidans bacteria
attached to sulfide minerals is shown in Fig. 1.8.
In summary, bioleaching involves
• Oxidative dissolution of sulfides with ferric ions.
• Reoxidation of ferrous by dissolved oxygen catalyzed by spe-
cific bacteria.
 Chapter 1 Leaching practice 15

Figure 1.8 Bacteria (yellow (light gray in print)) associated with sulfide minerals.

• Use of microorganisms of which thiobacillus ferrooxidans and

sulphooxidans are most common.
• Source of CO2, pH about 1.5e2, temperature 35e45 C, nutri-
ents (N, P, K), dissolved O2 greater than 1 ppm.
For example, the following reactions occur during the bio-
oxidation of pyrite,
FeS2 ðsÞ þ 14Fe3þ D 8H2 O ¼ 15Fe2þ D 2H2 SO4 D 12Hþ (1.6)

14Fe2 D þ 7=2O2 þ 14Hþ ¼ 14Fe3þ D 7H2 O (1.7)

that is, overall,

2FeS2 ðsÞ þ 15=2O2 D H2 O ¼ Fe2 ðSO4 Þ3 þ H2 SO4 (1.8)
N.B. In the case of pyrite, acid is produced and must be
neutralised.
In the case of pyrrotite,
2FeSðsÞ þ 9=2O2 þ H2 SO4 ¼ Fe2 ðSO4 Þ3 þ H2 O (1.9)

acid is consumed and must be provided to keep the pH in the op-

timum region.
Some of the most important advantages of biooxidation or
leaching processes are
• Rapid oxidation of iron(II) to iron(III)
• Bacterial oxidation of elemental sulfur layers
• Lower capital costs for small to medium size plants
• Relatively simple, low-tech process
• Environmentally acceptable
16 Chapter 1 Leaching practice

On the other hand, there are some disadvantages such as

• Slow kinetics (several days under favorable conditions)
• Sensitivity to process variations (temperature, loss of aeration,
poisons such as cyanide and salinity)
• Limited solids content (<20%)
• Produces soluble iron(III) that requires removal and disposal.
• Bioleaching does not recover the precious metals in the ore

1.6.1 Process parameters for biological oxidation

The plant size is determined by the ore or concentrate
throughput and the rate of oxidation of sulfide sulfur. The relative
proportions of each mineral present determine the process acid
consumption/production, oxygen demand, and cooling require-
ments as shown in Table 1.3.
Major design requirements of reactors are:
• Agitation to suspend solids and, more importantly, to disperse
large volumes of air or oxygen.
• Cooling coils to dissipate heat generated by exothermic reac-
tions and agitation that is not lost by evaporation, heating of
air, and feed pulp.

Table 1.3 Reagent and power requirements.

Oxygen
S, Heat of Reaction demand H2SO4
Mineral % kJ/kg kJ (kg/S) kg (kg/S) Demand kg /kg
Pyrrhotite 36.4
11,373
31,245 2.25 0.558
FeS
Arsenopyrite 19.6
9415
48,036 3.51 0.301
FeAsS
Pyrite 53.3
12,884
24,173 1.88
0.408
FeS2
Chalcopyrite 34.9
9593
27,505 2.13
CuFeS2
Chalcocite 20.1
6201
30,811 2.50
Cu2S
Pentlandite 33.2
10,174
30,644 2.20
(Ni,Fe)9S8
Dolomite 0
219 e e 0.979
Ca(Mg) (CO3)2
 Chapter 1 Leaching practice 17

• Residence time
• Corrosion resistance of the materials of construction given
acidic conditions.

1.6.2 Biooxidation reactor kinetics and design

The rate of biological oxidation of a sulfide mineral can often
be expressed in terms of the “logistic rate equation”
v ¼ dX=dt ¼ k$X½1
X = X m  (1.10)

where v is the rate of oxidation,

X is fraction oxidized,
Xm is the max. fraction that can be oxidized, and
k is a bacterial growth rate constant
Consider a single-stage CSTR reactor containing a volume V of
pulp that is flowing at a rate Q (volume/unit time) through the
reactor.
From the mass balance at steady-state, we obtain the CSTR
equation,
X ¼ V=Q$dX=dt (1.11)

and, substituting the previous rate equation,

X ¼ X m ð1
Q = kVÞ ¼ X m ð1
1 = ktR Þ (1.12)
in which tR ¼ V/Q is the mean residence time.
For k ¼ 1/tR, X ¼ 0, and this is referred to as the bacterial cell
“wash-out” condition that is, the operating point at which the
dilution rate, 1/tR, is equal to the maximum rate of growth of
the bacterial cells. Thus,
(a) For three equal reactors in series:
Cell wash-out will occur for tR ¼ 1/k and the system residence
time will be 3tR
(b) For a primary reactor that is twice the size of the secondary
reactors cell wash-out will occur for a total residence
time ¼ 2/k ¼ 2tR where tR is the residence time in the primary
reactor.
This is the basis for the common design of two primary reac-
tors in parallel feeding secondary reactors of the same size in se-
ries. This ensures that wash-out of the bacteria will not occur at
the design flow rates for a single reactor.
Fig. 1.9 illustrates this phenomenon for a bioleach reactor in
which a refractory gold concentrate is oxidized. The gold recovery
shown is that obtained by cyanidation of the residue from biolog-
ical oxidation. You should attempt to interpret the operating
18 Chapter 1 Leaching practice

10 100
9 90
8 80

Sulfide oxidised, t/d

7 70

Au recovery, %
6 60
5 50
4 40
3 30
2 S oxidised 20
1 10
Au
0 0
0 50 100
Feedrate, t/day
Figure 1.9 Typical biooxidation operating characteristics showing the effect of concentrate feed rate on the extent
of sulfide sulfur oxidized and gold recovered. Also shown are operating lines for 60% (____) and 85% (..)
oxidation.

diagram that shows two “operating” lines at 60% and 85% oxida-
tion. Note the effect of feed rate on the rate of oxidation of the sul-
fide and on the subsequent recovery of gold by cyanidation. Why
does the rate of sulfide oxidation decrease at a feed rate of greater
than about 55 t d
1?
In both bioleaching (or biooxidation) and pressure leaching
processes, the rate-determining step can be the transfer of oxy-
gen from the gas phase to the liquid phase, and, as outlined in
Chapter 5 in Volume 1, this flux(j) of oxygen can be described
by the equation
j ¼ KL ðc
co Þ (1.13)

in which c* ¼ po/H is the hypothetical liquid phase concentration

of the gas that would be in equilibrium with the bulk gas, co is the
bulk solution phase oxygen concentration, and k is the overall
mass transfer coefficient. po is the partial pressure of oxygen in
the gas phase, and H is the relevant Henry’s Law constant.
The rate equation for the transfer of oxygen can therefore be
written as
dc=dt ¼ ðkL A = VÞðc
co Þ (1.14)

in which A is the area of the gas/liquid interface and V the volume

of the liquid phase.
This is often written as
dc=dt ¼ kL aðc
co Þ (1.15)
 Chapter 1 Leaching practice 19

in which a is the gas/liquid interfacial area per unit volume of the

liquid phase. This value can be easily measured by several
methods such as sparging a batch of deoxygenated pulp or solu-
tion with oxygen or air and recording the increase in the dis-
solved oxygen concentration as a function of time. A plot of the
data according to the previous first-order rate equation will yield
a value of kLa.
For most agitated reactors used for bio- or pressure oxidation,
the following empirical equation describes the effects of the rate
of addition of gas and the agitation on the rate constant (kLa).
b
kL a ¼ aðP=VÞ Ug (1.16)

in which a, b, and g are adjustable (positive) parameters. In many

cases, g ¼ 1 while the values of a and b depend on the type of
impellor and gas distribution system used. P/V is the impellor po-
wer per unit volume and U is the impellor tip speed.
Typical data are shown in Fig. 1.10 for a 300 m3 reactor fitted
with a flat-blade impellor and a sparging ring below the impellor.

1.7 Pressure leaching

Pressure leaching is generally applied when either
(i) the rate of oxidation or dissolution of a mineral is too slow at
temperatures below 90 C to make recovery economically

Figure 1.10 Performance of an agitated bioreactor in terms of gas dispersion.

20 Chapter 1 Leaching practice

viable. An example is the recovery of gold from refractory gold

ores containing pyrite or arsenopyrite.
(ii) selective dissolution of the valuable component(s) can be
achieved by operation at high temperatures. An example is
the leaching of nickel and cobalt from laterite ores in which
iron is precipitated as goethite or hematite.
This technology can be applied to many oxidation, reduction,
precipitation, and leaching processes. The number of applica-
tions is growing and includes
• Refractory golddacid and alkaline
• Nickel, cobalt, and copperdsulfides, mattes, and oxides
• Zincdsulfides
• Alumina
• Tungsten
• Uranium
The advantages of leaching at elevated temperatures are pri-
marily associated with greater kinetics and higher recoveries.
This enables oxygen to be used as an oxidant with obvious eco-
nomic advantages. Furthermore, iron is generally precipitated
as an oxide at high temperatures (Chapter 2 in Volume 1). The
additional energy requirements can be partially offset if heat is
efficiently recovered from the hot discharged slurry.
Disadvantages include the relatively high capital, operating,
and maintenance costs. In addition, pure oxygen is generally
required from an on-site oxygen plant. Except for iron, selectivity
generally decreases as the temperature increases. In many cases,
the leach slurry is generally moderately acidic and often highly
oxidizing, requiring specialized materials for autoclave and ancil-
laries fabrication. A photograph of a typical autoclave used for the
oxidation of gold concentrates is shown in Fig. 1.11.
Various pressure hydrometallurgical processes are now widely
used on a range of ores and concentrates with operating condi-
tions, which range up to 260 C and 5000 kPa. These plants have
convincingly demonstrated to the metallurgical industry that
pressure oxidation on a large scale (in excess of 2000 t/d of feed
per autoclave) is a reliable, efficient, and economic process. The
confidence developed within the industry as a result of the suc-
cessful large-scale application of pressure oxidation, particularly
in the gold industry, has led to the rapid expansion of the number
of operating and planned pressure acid leach plants. This, in turn,
will possibly result in the application of this technology in other
base metal areas, particularly copper.
The most significant advance in the recovery of zinc from pri-
mary concentrates has been the pressure-leach process devel-
oped in Canada and now used in a number of plants. It is
 Chapter 1 Leaching practice 21

Figure 1.11 Top of a multicompartment pressure leach autoclave showing

agitators and observation portholes.

significant to note that this process was developed primarily to

address the environmental problems associated with the roasting
of sulfide ores and the disposal of sulfuric acid and hazardous
solid residues.
In a typical zinc pressure leach plant, reground zinc concen-
trates are pumped into the autoclaves with cell house acid and
oxygen. The autoclave conditions are controlled at about 150 C
and 1.4 MPa pressure. Elemental sulfur is separated from a
plumbo-jarosite leach residue in a series of flotation cells. After
remelting and hot filtration, the elemental sulfur is shipped to
markets. The slurry of zinc sulfate solution and leach residues is
preferably pumped to a nearby oxide leach plant for further
processing.
The use of pressure oxidation for copper concentrates has not
developed to the same extent as zinc despite considerable
research and development work on several different processing
options that differ primarily on the temperature of operation
and the particle size of the feed materials. The main distinction
revolves around the deportment of sulfur as shown by the two
equations
CuFeS2 þ 1.25O2 þ 5Hþ ¼ Cu2þ þ Fe3þ þ 2S
þ 2.5H2 O ðbelow 150o CÞ (1.17)

CuFeS2 þ 4.25O2 þ Hþ ¼ Cu2þ þ Fe3þ þ 2SO2

4

þ 0.5H2 O ðabove 200o CÞ (1.18)

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Title: The Anti-slavery Harp: A Collection of Songs for Anti-

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Author: William Wells Brown

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ANTI-

SLAVERY HARP: A COLLECTION OF SONGS FOR ANTI-SLAVERY
MEETINGS ***
 THE

ANTI-SLAVERY HARP:
COLLECTION OF SONGS
FOR

ANTI-SLAVERY MEETINGS.

COMPILED BY
WILLIAM W. BROWN.

THIRD EDITION.

BOSTON:
PUBLISHED BY BELA MARSH,
No. 25 Cornhill.
1851.
Press of Bazin & Chandler,
No. 37 Cornhill.
 SONGS.

FREEDOM’S BANNER.
 Air—Freedom’s Banner.

My country, shall thy honored name,

Be as a by-word through the world?
Rouse! for as if to blast thy fame,
This keen reproach is at thee hurled;
The banner that above the waves,
Is floating over three millions slaves.

That flag, my country, I had thought,

From noble sires was given to thee;
By the best blood of patriots bought,
To wave alone above the Free!
Yet now, while to the breeze it waves,
It floats above three millions slaves.

The mighty dead that flag unrolled,

They bathed it in the heaven’s own blue;
They sprinkled stars upon each fold,
And gave it as a trust to you;
And now that glorious banner waves
In shame above three millions slaves.

O, by the virtues of our sires,

And by the soil on which they trod,
And by the trust their name inspires,
And by the hope we have in God,
Arouse, my country, and agree
To set thy captive children free.

Arouse! and let each hill and glen

With prayer to the high heavens ring out,
Till all our land with freeborn men,
May join in one triumphant shout,
That freedom’s banner does not wave
Its folds above a single slave.
O, PITY THE SLAVE MOTHER!

Air—Araby’s Daughter.

I pity the slave mother, careworn and weary,

Who sighs as she presses her babe to her breast;
I lament her sad fate, all so hopeless and dreary,
I lament for her woes, and her wrongs unredressed.
O who can imagine her heart’s deep emotion,
As she thinks of her children about to be sold;
You may picture the bounds of the rock-girdled ocean,
But the grief of that mother can never be known.

The mildew of slavery has blighted each blossom,

That ever has bloomed in her pathway below;
It has froze every fountain that gushed in her bosom,
And chilled her heart’s verdure with pitiless woe;
Her parents, her kindred, all crushed by oppression;
Her husband still doomed in its desert to stay;
No arm to protect from the tyrant’s aggression—
She must weep as she treads on her desolate way.

O, slave mother, hope! see—the nation is shaking!

The arm of the Lord is awake to thy wrong!
The slave-holder’s heart now with terror is quaking,
Salvation and Mercy to Heaven belong!
Rejoice, O, rejoice! for the child thou art rearing,
May one day lift up its unmanacled form,
While hope, to thy heart, like the rain-bow so cheering,
Is born, like the rain-bow, ’mid tempest and storm.
THE BLIND SLAVE BOY.
 Air—Sweet Afton.

Come back to me, mother! why linger away

From thy poor little blind boy, the long weary day!
I mark every footstep, I list to each tone,
And wonder my mother should leave me alone!
There are voices of sorrow and voices of glee,
But there’s no one to joy or to sorrow with me;
For each hath of pleasure and trouble his share,
And none for the poor little blind boy will care.

My mother, come back to me! close to thy breast

Once more let thy poor little blind one be pressed;
Once more let me feel thy warm breath on my cheek,
And hear thee in accents of tenderness speak!
O mother! I’ve no one to love me—no heart
Can bear like thine own in my sorrows a part;
No hand is so gentle, no voice is so kind!
O! none like a mother can cherish the blind!

Poor blind one! no mother thy wailing can hear,

No mother can hasten to banish thy fear;
For the slave-owner drives her o’er mountain and wild,
And for one paltry dollar hath sold thee, poor child!
Ah! who can in language of mortals reveal
The anguish that none but a mother can feel,
When man in his vile lust of mammon hath trod
On her child, who is stricken and smitten of God!

Blind, helpless, forsaken, with strangers alone,

She hears in her anguish his piteous moan,
As he eagerly listens—but listens in vain,
To catch the loved tones of his mother again!
The curse of the broken in spirit shall fall
On the wretch who hath mingled this wormwood and gall,
And his gain like a mildew shall blight and destroy,
 d s ga ea de s a b g t a d dest oy,
Who hath torn from his mother the little blind boy!
YE SONS OF FREEMEN!
 Air—Marseilles Hymn.

Ye sons of freemen, wake to sadness,

Hark! hark! what myriads bid you rise;
Three millions of our race in madness
Break out in wails, in bitter cries,
Break out in wails, in bitter cries;
Must men whose hearts now bleed with anguish,
Yes, trembling slaves in freedom’s land,
Endure the lash, nor raise a hand?
Must nature ’neath the whip-cord languish?
Have pity on the slave,
Take courage from God’s word;
Pray on, pray on, all hearts resolved—these captives shall be free.

The fearful storm—it threatens lowering,

Which God in mercy long delays;
Slaves yet may see their masters cowering,
While whole plantations smoke and blaze!
While whole plantations smoke and blaze;
And we may now prevent the ruin,
Ere lawless force with guilty stride
Shall scatter vengeance far and wide—
With untold crimes their hands imbruing.
Have pity on the slave;
Take courage from God’s word;
Pray on, pray on, all hearts resolved—these captives shall be free.

With luxury and wealth surrounded,[7]

The southern masters proudly dare,
With thirst of gold and power unbounded,
To mete and vend God’s light and air!
To mete and vend God’s light and air;
Like beasts of burden, slaves are loaded,
Till life’s poor toilsome day is o’er;
While they in vain for right implore;
 While they in vain for right implore;
And shall they longer still be goaded?
Have pity on the slave;
Take courage from God’s word;
Toil on, toil on, all hearts resolved—these captives shall be free.

O Liberty! can man e’er bind thee?

Can overseers quench thy flame?
Can dungeons, bolts, or bars confine thee,
Or threats thy Heaven-born spirit tame?
Or threats thy Heaven-born spirit tame;
Too long the slave has groaned, bewailing
The power these heartless tyrants wield;
Yet free them not by sword or shield,
For with men’s hearts they’re unavailing;
Have pity on the slave;
Take courage from God’s word;
Toil on! toil on! all hearts resolved—these captives shall be free!
 FREEDOM’S STAR.

Air—Silver Moon.

As I strayed from my cot at the close of the day,

I turned my fond gaze to the sky;
I beheld all the stars as so sweetly they lay,
And but one fixed my heart or my eye.
Chorus.
Shine on, northern star, thou’rt beautiful and bright
To the slave on his journey afar;
For he speeds from his foes in the darkness of night,
Guided on by thy light, freedom’s star.

On thee he depends when he threads the dark woods

Ere the bloodhounds have hunted him back;
Thou leadest him on over mountains and floods,
With thy beams shining full on his track.
Shine on, &c.

Unwelcome to him is the bright orb of day,

As it glides o’er the earth and the sea;
He seeks then to hide like a wild beast of prey,
But with hope rests his heart upon thee.
Shine on, &c.

May never a cloud overshadow thy face,

While the slave flies before his pursuer;
Gleam steadily on to the end of his race,
Till his body and soul are secure.
Shine on, &c.
THE LIBERTY BALL.
 Air—Rosin the Bow.

Come all ye true friends of the nation,

Attend to humanity’s call;
Come aid the poor slave’s liberation,
And roll on the liberty ball—
And roll on the liberty ball—
Come aid the poor slave’s liberation,
And roll on the liberty ball.

The liberty hosts are advancing—

For freedom to all they declare;
The down-trodden millions are sighing—
Come break up our gloom of despair.
Come break up our gloom of despair, &c.

Ye Democrats, come to the rescue,

And aid on the liberty cause,
And millions will rise up and bless you,
With heart-cheering songs of applause,
With heart-cheering songs, &c.

Ye Whigs, forsake slavery’s minions,

And boldly step into our ranks;
We care not for party opinions,
But invite all the friends of the banks—
And invite all the friends of the banks, &c.

And when we have formed the blest union

We’ll firmly march on, one and all—
We’ll sing when we meet in communion,
And roll on the liberty ball,
And roll on the liberty ball, &c.