Heap leaching of caliche minerals: Phenomenological and analytical models – Some comparisons

Gálvez, Edelmira D.; Moreno, Luis; Mellado, Mario E.; Ordóñez, Javier I.; Cisternas, Luís A.

doi:10.1016/j.mineng.2011.11.009

Cited by 16 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The results of leaching experiment were simulated using the previously developed model for highly soluble species proposed by Gálvez et al (2012). It was found that the model can be used directly for the representation of the leaching of coarse particles without fitting using the same mass transfer coefficient that was obtained for small particles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most important products obtained from this mineral are nitrates and iodine. Natural nitrates (also named Saltpetre) are used for the manufacture of fertilizers and as industrial salts, while iodine is employed in medical and technological applications (Gálvez et al, 2012;Valencia et al, 2008;Ericksen, 1983). Chile is the world's largest producer of iodine and natural nitrates (USGS, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another important difference with metallic minerals is that caliche has a high fraction of soluble minerals formed by different species that are dissolved simultaneously at different rates, which makes the modelling of caliche heap leaching a complex task (Gálvez et al, 2012). The high fraction of soluble species causes a gradual decrease in the size of the particles and, therefore, a diminution of the heap height.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Leaching of Coarse Caliche Ore. Experiment and Modelling

Valdez

Ordóñez

Cisternas

et al. 2016

Braz. J. Chem. Eng.

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-Heap leaching of caliche ores is frequently performed with run-of-mine (ROM) material, which includes rocks of very different sizes; however, most of the experimental data are obtained using small particles. To contribute to the understanding of caliche leaching, an experiment using coarse particles was carried out. The recoveries obtained from this experiment were compared with those observed in the leaching of fine particles and, as expected, a larger volume of leachant was required for leaching coarse particles to reach the same recovery. For the highly soluble species nitrate, the recovery was modelled using a previously developed model, obtaining good agreement without any fitting by using only the mass transfer coefficient obtained, by fitting, from fine particle leaching data in previous works. Physical properties such as permeability and capillarity were determined, showing that capillary forces are large, but that the permeability is very small, implying that flow through caliche particles should be very small.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Leaching of Coarse Caliche Ore. Experiment and Modelling

Valdez

Ordóñez

Cisternas

et al. 2016

Braz. J. Chem. Eng.

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“…Insoluble species such as quartz and other silicates are also present (Valencia et al, 2008;Pokorny and Maturana, 1997;Ericksen, 1983). In some cases, the soluble fraction of the caliche can reach up to 40% (Gálvez et al, 2012). Historically, the processing of caliche was done in mobile installations, with stirred and heated tanks, which was applicable to high-grade caliche ores with up to 50% of nitrate minerals (Lauterbach, 2004).…”

Section: Caliche Mineral Heap Leachingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heap leaching technology – current state, innovations and future directions: A review

Ghorbani

Franzidis

Petersen

2015

Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review

102

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Heap leaching is a well-established extractive metallurgical technology enabling the economical processing of various kinds of low-grade ores, which could not otherwise be exploited. However, despite much progress since it was first applied in recent times, the process remains limited by low recoveries and long extraction times. It is becoming increasingly clear that the choice of heap leaching as a suitable technology to process a particular mineral resource, which is both environmentally sound and economically viable, very much depends on having a comprehensive understanding of the underlying fundamental mechanisms of the processes and how they interact with the particular mineralogy of the ore body under consideration. This paper provides an introduction to the theoretical background of various heap leach processes, offers a scientific and

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“…Specifically, for caliche, the first modeling approach was proposed by Valencia et al [12], who modeled independently the recovery of Nitrate and Magnesium by empirical kinetic expressions that were fitted through column experiments. Gálvez et al [20] described and compared two models: a phenomenological and hybrid one (also known as empirical knowledge-based models), based on expressions described previously [12,16]. Subsequently, Ordóñez et al [13] conducted experiments of column leaching and provided data used to validate the earlier proposed models.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heap Leaching of Caliche Ore. Modeling of a Multicomponent System with Particle Size Distribution

Ordóñez¹,

Condori

Moreno

et al. 2017

Minerals

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Abstract:Caliche is a mineral exploited in northern Chile, from which iodine and Nitrate salts (saltpeter) are obtained. This ore is the most important source of iodine in the world and is processed mainly by heap leaching using water as a leaching agent. Heap leaching of caliche ore is carried out by the stacking of ROM (Run-Of-Mine) material, where the particle size distribution covers a wide range, from a few millimeters up to several decimeters, even diameters about 1 m. During the leaching, the multiple soluble species of caliche, which can reach total fractions larger than 40%, are dissolved at different rates, mainly controlled by their solubilities. When it occurs and unlike most other leachable ores, the particle size diminishes. The leaching modeling of several soluble species of caliche has been recently addressed; however, one of the main assumptions is the idealization that the heap is composed of particles of the same size. The present work aims to complement the previously formulated phenomenological models for caliche ore leaching, through a model that considers the simultaneous dissolution of two species from caliche with three different particle sizes. These two water-soluble species have different solubilities and dissolution rates and the conceptual model considers that both species are dissolved at the particle surface. When the most soluble species is being depleted, the particle collapses, leaving a remaining fraction of the less soluble species together with insoluble material. The less soluble species is now being dissolved from the collapsed material. This article also includes the experimental verification of the conceptual model using data obtained from column leaching tests conducted for this purpose, focusing on the dissolution of two soluble species: Nitrate and Magnesium.

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Heap leaching of caliche minerals: Phenomenological and analytical models – Some comparisons

Cited by 16 publications

References 11 publications

Leaching of Coarse Caliche Ore. Experiment and Modelling

Leaching of Coarse Caliche Ore. Experiment and Modelling

Heap leaching technology – current state, innovations and future directions: A review

Heap Leaching of Caliche Ore. Modeling of a Multicomponent System with Particle Size Distribution

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