Zonamiento en pórfido de cobre por solubilización de minerales económicos para mejorar el grado de recuperación

Abstract

The recognition of hydrothermal zoning in porphyry copper deposits allows the identification of characteristic mineral assemblages of alteration and mineralization, whose detailed description and mineralogical characterization allow the elaboration of efficient geological models used for metallurgical processes. The present research was carried out with the purpose of formulating mineralization classification parameters grouped by copper minerals with similar characteristics and behaviors based on the study or their solubilities, with this, improving the metallurgical recovery process. Bibliographic information on porphyritic copper deposits has been compiled and field samples have been obtained from the analysis units. Based on this information, a synthesis has been made to detail the characteristics of a porphyry copper deposit focused mainly on the hydrothermal processes that gave rise to the alteration and mineralization. Subsequently, solubility tests were carried out on the samples by sulfuric acid and sodium cyanide, where finally the classification parameters for the different mineralization zones and the respective zoning were established, in this way, use this information to obtains the best copper recoveries in the metallurgical process with values above 93%.