Technical assessment of industrial operation of copper electrowinning cells with current source topology

Abstract

Since the last quarter of 2010, a circuit consisting of 92 cells in Barrick Zaldivar's EW plant is working with current source connection. The technology was progressively incorporated without disrupting the plant production. During the three month evaluation current efficiency and energy consumption were improved. The review of the technology includes an unexpected phenomenon called "dirty contact" that decreases the energy efficiency and reliability of the topology. By February 2013, 120,000 tons of copper have been produced with the technology.