Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin, Ekaterinburg, Russia:

V. G. Lobanov, Professor
S. S. Naboychenko, Head of a Chair

JSC “Uralelectromed”, Ekaterinburg, Russia:
S. A. Mastyugin, Chief Technologist on Precious Metals of Technical Department, e-mail: S.Mastugin@elem.ru
R. S. Voinkov, Head of Department of Processing of Slimes of Chemical-Metallurgical Shop
A. A. Korolev, Chief Engineer

The article is devoted to the problem of hydrometallurgical processing of copper-electrolyte slime. It describes principal peculiarities of hydrometallurgical technologies. The article presents the data on pressure leaching of slime with subsequent flotation generation of chalcogenide-based concentrates and, first of all, generation of silver selenide. Lead sulfate is the main component, participating in tails flotation. The article specifies advantages and disadvantages of known methods of hydrometallurgical break-down of chalcogenide and oxide phase. Oxidation leaching of float concentrate in acid and alkaline medium is complicated due to low solvability of silver selenide, conditioned by formation of intermediate hardly soluble products that passivate the surface of concentrate particles. Thermodynamic analysis demonstrates the possibility of silver selenide recovering leaching. The distinguishing feature of such process is silver transfer into metallic phase. Selenium in this case is passed into solution in sodium selenide form. Besides, this article analyses some reagent options of the foregoing process, whereupon conclusions on advantages of soluble reducing agents were made. The carried out test experiments proved the possibility and prospect viability of selenium reducing leaching in leach solutions from decoppered slime and float concentrate. he carried out experiments proved the possibility of lead leaching from slimes with the help of industrial complexing agents. Economic efficiency of the given approach is conditioned by regeneration of leaching solutions with deriving of lead as commodity product.

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