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Recovery of Platinum, Palladium, and Gold from Stillwater Complex Flotation Concentrate by a Roasting-Leaching Procedure

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Recovery of Platinum, Palladium, and Gold from Stillwater Complex Flotation Concentrate by a Roasting-Leaching Procedure III r~Ii 8970 I Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations/1985 II Recovery of Platinum, Palladium, and Gold From Stillwater Complex Flotation Concentrate by a Roasting-Leaching Procedure By E. G. Baglin, J. M. Gomes, T. G. Carnahan, and J. M. Snider UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ~7t.5- ~ E: ~ 0,.(> ~ MINES 75TH A~ Report of Investigations 8970 Recovery of Platinum, Palladium, and Gold From Stillwater Complex Flotation Concentrate by a Roasting-Leaching Procedure By E. G. Baglin, J. M. Gomes, T. G. Carnahan, and J. M. Snider UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Donald Paul Hodel, Secretary BUREAU OF MINES Robert C. Horton, Director Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data: Recovery of platit1Um, palladium, and gold from Stillwater Complex flo­ tation concentrate by a roasting·leaclling procedure. (Bureau of Mines report of investigations; 8970) Bibliography: p. 12. Supt. of Docs. no.: I 28.23:8970. 1. Platinum-Metallurgy. 2. Palladium-Metallurgy. 3 •.Gold-Metal­ lurgy. 4. ,Roasting (Metallurgy). 5. Leaching. 6. Floration. 1. Saglin, E. G. (Elizabetb G.). II. Series: Report of investigations (United States. Bureau of '>fines) ; 8970. TN23.U43 [TN799.P7] 6228 [669'.2] CONTENTS Abstract ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ". •• ••••••••• •••••••••••••• 1 Introduction •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• (l................. 2 Acknowledgment •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• " • • • • • • • • • • • 2 Sample description •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• "................. 2 Test scheme development and experimental procedures........................... 3 ResultsPreliminary and discussion tests........................................................... ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ft ••• ,..... • • 4 Study of process variables.................................................. 7 Pre leaching ............................................................... ',' • • 8 Alternate oxidants.......................................................... 9 Leaching of concentrates MB, MC, and WF..................................... 10 PGM and gold recovery from solution......................................... 11 Summary.......................................................................Flow diagram for roasting-leaching procedure................................ 11 Referellces.................................................................... 12 ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Effect of roasting temperature on the extraction of precious metals with H20 2-6M HCI at ambient temperature ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 8 2. Flow diagram for roasting-leaching procedure ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 11 TABLES 1. Analysis of flotation concentrates ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 3 2. Concentrate leaching - screening tests ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 5 3. Effect of roasting temperature on H202-6M HCI leaching of Stillwater concentrate at 105 0 C•••••••••••••••••• 7 ............................... 5 0 4. Effect of leaching temperature on H202-6~ HCI leaching of 800 C roasted concentrate ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•.••••••••.••••••••••••.•••••• 6 5. Effects of HCI and CI- concentrations on H202-acid chloride leaching at ambient temperature of 800 0 C roasted concentrate ••••••••••••••••••••••• 7 6. Effect of roasting temperature on H20Z-6M HCI leaching of Stillwater concentrate at ambient temperature •••••7 ............................... 8 7. Two-stage leaching of 1,0500 C roasted concentrate ••••••••••••••••••••••• 9 8. Analysis of products from single- and two-stage leaching of 1,0500 C roasted concentrate ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 9 9. Leaching of 10500 C roasted and preleached concentrate with different oxidants. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • 10 10. Effect of roasting temperature on H20 2-6M Hel leaching of different Stillwater concentrates ••••••••••••••••7 ............................... 10 ---'Ii ! UNIT OF MEASURE ABREVIATIONS USED IN THIS REPORT °c degree Celsius mL millilter g gram oz/ton ounce per ton h hour pct percent L liter psig pound (force) per square inch, gauge M gram mole per liter ].lm micrometer mg milligram V volt RECOVERY OF PLATINUM, PALLADIUM, AND GOLD FROM STILLWATER COMPLEX FLOT ATION CONCENTRATE BY A ROASTING·LEACHING PROCEDURE By E. G. Bdglin, 1 J. M. Gomes, 2 T. G. Carnahan,2and J. M. Snider 3 ABSTRACT The Bureau of Mines devised a procedure for selectively extracting platinum-group metals (PGM) and gold from Stillwater Complex flotation concentrate. The Stillwater Complex is the only major U.S. PGM re­ source. Development of a suitable extraction technique will contribute to its exploitation. The concentrate was roasted at 1,050° C to convert host base-metal sulfides to oxides and the PGM from sulfide minerals to their elemental states. The roasted concentrate was preleached with di­ lute sulfuric acid to remove easily soluble gangue minerals. After pre­ leaching, the concentrate was slurried with 6M HCI and leached at ambi­ ent temperature and pressure with a strong -oxidizing agent. Hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, sodium hypochlorite, nitric acid, and a persulfate salt were the oxidants investigated. The two-stage leaching scheme ex­ tracted up to 97 pct of the platinum, 92 pct of the palladium, and 99 pct of the gold from the roasted concentrate. The base metals were not solubilized and reported to the residue. No attempt was made to devise a procedure to recover the copper and nickel because they comprise less than 5 pct of the value of the concentrate. Viable techniques for re­ covering the precious metals from the pregnant solution were sulfide precipitation, cementation with nickel, or adsorption on activated carbon. 'Research chemist. 2Supervisory metallurgist. 3Chemical engineer. Reno Research Center, Bureau of Mines, Reno, NV. 2 INTRODUCTION For several years the Bureau of Mines PGM sulfide concentrates and the ultimate has been investigating methods for con­ probable dependence on a foreign smelter centrating and recovering platinum-group and refinery to produce the platinum­ metals (PGM) and associated base metals group metals, alternative processing of from ores from the Stillwater Complex, Stillwater Complex concentrates is being Montana, because it is the only major considered. The objective of the current U.s. PGM resource (1-4).4 The most sig­ investigation was to determine the feasi­ nificant PGM mineralization occurs in bility of hydrometallurgical techniques conjunction with iron, nickel, and copper to recover PGM from Stillwater Complex sulfides which are found in mineralized concentrates. Ore samples were obtained layers of the Banded Zone of the Complex. from the Minneapolis Adit on the Howland Because of this sulfide association, the Reef and the West Fork Adit on the J-M Bureau's studies focused on traditional Reef. Geological, stratigraphical, pet­ techniques for treating sulfide ores. rographical, and mineralogical descrip­ Samples of Stillwater Complex ores were tions of these zones of PGM concentration beneficiated by froth flotation (l-l) and are discussed elsewhere (~-l). matte smelting-leaching (4). Because of long processing times en­ countered with conventional treatment of ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors gratefully acknowledge the Manville Corp. for providing ore and assistance of Anaconda Minerals Co. concentrate samples used in this (Atlantic Richfield Corp.) and Johns- inves tigation. SAMPLE DESCRIPTION Table 1 summarizes chemical and size was prepared in Anaconda Minerals Co. pi­ distribution data for the four flotation lot mill at Tucson, AZ. MC was prepared concentrates used in this study. The ore by twice cleaning rougher concentrates from which concentrates MA, ME, and MC recovered from serpentinized ore in the were prepared originated in Anaconda's Bureau's pilot mill. A sodium isobutyl Minneapolis Adit. These samples are rep­ xanthate-normal dodecylmercaptan collec­ resentative of the concentrates generated tor combination was used at a natural pH by pilot mills operated by the Bureau and of 8.2 (3). Sample WF was prepared from Anaconda Minerals Co. MA is a cleaner anorthosftic ore from Johns-Manville's concentrate prepared from anorthositic West Fork exploration adit. The WF con­ ore in the Bureau's pilot mill using an centrate was recovered by bench-scale acidified pulp and mercaptobenzothiazole flotation using an acid-MBT flotation (MBT) as the collector (2). MB resulted circuit (l). from flotation of a mixture of anortho­ Microprobe examination showed that the sitic and serpentinized ores using a nat­ concentrates were composed primarily of ural pH-xanthate circuit which included sulfide minerals in siliceous gangues. three cleaning cycles. This concentrate Although the mineralogy of the individual concentrates differed somewhat, the prin­ cipal accessory minerals were pentlandite 4Underlined numbers in parentheses re­ [(Fe,Ni)9SS], pyrite (FeS2), and chalco­ fer to items in the list of references at pyrite (CuFeS2), with minor to trace the end of this report. amounts of heazlewoodite (Ni3 S2), galena 3 (PbS), sphalerite (ZnS), and millerite TABLE 1. - Analysis of flotation (NiS). The PGM were distributed partly concentrates in the form of platinoid minerals (Pt-Fe alloys, PGM sulfides) and partly in West solid-solution in the pentlandite, with Minneapolis Ad it Fork palladium partially replacing nickel in Ad it the crystal lattice. The other principal Sample
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