Optimization of the heap leaching process technology of copper oxide ore at Atkogay deposit

Abstract

Over the past decades, many deposits of non-ferrous metals located in developed areas, in favorable mining, climatic and transport conditions, have been depleted. The depletion of mineral resources at these sites, the increasing severity of economic and social problems, the tightening of environmental requirements and energy difficulties in recent years require the search for new technological solutions. One of the modern methods of processing primary and especially off-balance raw materials is biogeotechnology, which uses the bacterial-chemical mechanism of the processes of oxidation of sulfides and leaching of metals from ores.

At present, significant reserves of stale tailings from tailings dump have accumulated in various fields. Tailing dump reserves are estimated at up to 1 billion tons. Evaluation of samples showed that the average copper content in tailings is 0.15-0.2 %. This paper is devoted to the study of the process of leaching copper-containing tailings on the example of waste from the Aktogay deposit