Hidrometalurgia I

2. Fundamentos

CONTENIDO
2.1.
Geo-Minero-Metalurgia
y
su
importancia
Hidrometalurgia. Mineraloga y Metalurgia.

en

2.2. Solubilidad del agua. Hidratacin e hidrlisis. Solubilidad

de slidos.
2.3. Oxidacin y Reduccin.
2.4. Compuestos de coordinacin y iones complejos.
2.5. Precipitacin de iones.
2.6 Problemas

Geo-Minero-Metalurgia y su
importancia en Hidrometalurgia.
Mineraloga y Metalurgia.

Geology Mining Processing

All 3 aspects must be favorable to make a deposit
economically viable
Geology: Find it. Is it big enough to be economic?
Mining: Dig it. Is it economically recoverable from the
ground?
Processing: Extract it. Is it economically separable
from the host rock?

Mining Terminology - Review

Miners send their products to their customer the mill.
Ore : Rock that contains a mineral or minerals in sufficient
quantities as to make commercial extraction (mining milling)
profitable.
Grade : A measure of concentration of a mineral/metal contained in
rock (or ore). Gold and other precious metals g/t or oz/t, base metals
- %, uranium kg/tonne, rare earth elements ppm
Cut off Grade : The minimum concentration or grade of mineral that
is required for rock to be considered ore.
Waste : Not Ore.
Ore Body: A mineralized deposit (resource) whose characteristics
have been examined and found to be commercially viable. The
extents of the ore body are determined by the cut-off grade.
Host Rock: The rock containing an ore deposit. Typically composed
of 2 or more minerals.
Gangue: Minerals in the ore body that are not of economic interest

Mineral:
a)A solid naturally-occurring compound having
a definite chemical composition.
b) Inorganic substance that are extracted from
the earth for use by man.
c) A naturally occurring inorganic element or
compound having an orderly internal structure
and characteristic chemical composition,
crystal form, and physical properties.

Mineral classification
Nonmetallic processing has some commonalities
with metal processing, but lots of differences

Examples of minerals

 Geology determines availability

Mineralogy determines recoverability

Impact of the Geology

Mineral Reserve: This is where things start to get real

Impact of mineralogy
We mine rocks but
we concentrate
minerals.
Gangue minerals
also important
Understanding
mineralogy allows
design of processes
Important for
feasibility studies

Impact of Metallurgy

Processing

Extract values, reject waste

Conversion of mined ore into usable product
More expensive/challenging with lower
grade ores
Numerous processing methods

Recovery
Recovery : Potential for loss every step of the way, in each
circuit!
Tonnage vs. Recovery: A processing circuit pushed beyond its
capacity will induce recovery loss

Feed Grade vs. Recovery : A higher feed grade tends to have

higher processing recovery

Concentrate /Metal Grade vs. Recovery: A higher

concentrate/metal grade tends to result in lower processing recovery
(= rejection of lower quality minerals to tailings)

Concentrate/Metal Grade vs. Price: A higher quality

concentrate/metal will fetch a higher price (have lower impurity
penalties)

Revenue = Production (tonnes) x grade x recovery x price

Mining Economics
Typical product grade vs. recovery
curve for a Cu sulphide flotation mill

Operation Economics
Relation between cost and particle size

Operation Economics - Review

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF)
NPV (net present value) is a means of comparing a
dollar today to the value of the same dollar in the
future. For mining projects, we apply NPV to
determine if a project is worth more than it costs.
Free Cash Flow (FCF) is the operating cash flow minus
capital includes Taxes, Dividends, Royalties,
Depreciation and Amortization. I.e. the amount of
money left after the bills are paid
Discount Rate is rate that future cash flows are
discounted to determine present value. This is
different than interest.
IRR (internal rate of return) is the discount rate that
results in an NPV of 0.

Mineral Economics - Review

Net Present Value is common way to evaluate a project

Value = Free Cash Flow

Rate = Discount Rate
n=Total number of periods
i=Period

Payback period - the time required for the

operating revenue to pay back all the costs,
including the initial capital investment used to
construct the project.

Operation Economics
Typical mining project annual cash flow pattern
R = revenue, C = costs, T = taxes, A = annual
loan payment (principal + interest), F = cash
flow and K= capital costs.

Mining Project Economics

What happens when project parameters are changed?
Must start with a reasonable base case scenario (technically
feasible) before economic optimization (fine tuning)
Strong inter-relationships between:
Tonnage
Grade
Capital costs
Operating costs
Has effects on:
Mine life
Cutoff grade

Capital and Operating Cost Estimation vs. Tonnage

Work by OHara (1980), OHara and Suboleski (1992) and
USBM (1987) suggest that the curves for capital and
operating costs can be reasonably approximated by
exponential equations, with the general form:

Cost = K tx
Where:
K = a constant specific to the particular cost
t = production rate in tonnes per day
x = an exponent
Capital costs typical range: 0.5 to 0.7
0.6 is a reasonable first estimate

Operating costs in $/t typical range -.3 to -.1

-0.2 is a reasonable first estimate
WARNING: These equations should not be used for
detailed estimating, although they can give guidance for
order of magnitude estimating.

Capital and Operating Costs vs. Tonnage

If a cost is known accurately, this relationship can be used to factor the cost up or
down for differing production rates, within reasonable limits:
Cost at t1 = C1 = K t1x
Cost at t2 = C2 = K t2x
Then:
C1 / C2 = (K t1x) / (K t2x)
= t1x / t2x (because K is common it can be eliminated)
= (t1 / t2)x
Simplified:

C1 / C2 = (t1 / t2)x

Then:
C2 = C1 (t2 / t1)x
For a capital cost or annual operating cost, if C1 and t1 are known, and x can be
estimated from experience then C2 can be estimated for a given t2.
Example:
For capital cost at 20,000 t/d is $30 million, then at 25,000 t/d can be estimated at:
C2 = $30000000 (25000 / 20000)0.6
= $30000000 (1.1433)
= $34,298,000
For operating cost of $10.00/tonne, and an exponent of -.2 the unit cost at the
higher tonnage will be:
C2 = $10.00 (25000 / 20000)-0.2
= $10.00 (0.9564) = $9.56

Capex and Opex vs. Production Rate

NPV Curve

An NPV curve is theoretical, always check

that the inputs are realistic!

Milling Operating Costs

Typical relative cost of beneficiating an ore

Operation

Crushing

5 - 20

Grinding

25 - 75

Flotation

25 -45

Dewatering and
drying

10 -20

Other operations

5 - 10

Caso de estudio
Muestra

Au

Ag

Pb

Cu

Zn

Fe

CuO

ZnO

PbO

ppm

ppm

0.28

255

4.33

0.04

2.96

7.27

0.0

0.0

1.96

M-5 (Sulfuros 15)

Cabeza

LEY
Zn

Tamao
MnimoMximo

Tamao
Promedio

Tamao
MnimoMximo

Tamao
Promedi
o

Esfalerita Liberada

50.0

1.48

10 -- 200

72.8

---

---

Esfalerita Asociada Cuarzo

1.19

0.03

30

30

100

100

Esfalerita Asociada a Galena

10.71

0.317

12 -- 180

70

20 --- 80

55.7

2.38

0.07

30 --- 180

105

60 -- 120

90.0

Esfalerita Asociada a Pirita

4.76

0.140

30 -- 200

105

40 -- 100

70.0

Esfalerita con Inclusiones Galena

5.95

0.176

40 --- 160

104

12 -- 20

18

Esfalerita Incluida en Pirita

4.76

0.140

16 -- 20

18

70--- 180

125.0

Esfalerita rodeada por Galena

15.0

0.457

30 -- 160

104

Forma de Aro

----

100%

2.96 %

ESPECIE MINERAL

Esfalerita

Asociada

Arsenopirita

Mxima recuperacin
Costos
Utilidad