UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB

B.Sc. (Engg.) Metallurgy & Materials Engineering

(Semester-3)
Mineral Processing
Assignment No 2

Submitted By:
Usman Ul Hassan Pirzada
19MME-S1-323

Submitted To:
Prof. Fahad Riaz
Question No 1:
What are different leaching techniques and what are different procedures
adopted for environment sustainability?
Ans: Before we start the different techniques that, are used for leaching we should
learn about what is leaching process?

Leaching:
Leaching is the process that is used to extract the useful substances from solid
material. This process is only done when the substance can dissolve in liquid.
Following are the different techniques used for leaching:
1. Heap Leaching.
2. In-Situ Leaching.
3. Tank Leaching.

Heap Leaching:
This process of leaching is used for the extraction of uranium, copper,
and some other material from their ore. The heap leaching is a kind of industrial
mining process which is useful for the extraction of precious metals, uranium,
copper, and several other compounds from their respective ores. This is done with
the help of a series of chemical reactions that tend to absorb specific minerals and
tend to re separate them once they undergo a division from several other earth
materials. The
process of heap leach mining occurs when the ore is placed on a liner and the
chemicals are then added to it with the help of the drip system. This process is
extensively used in today's larger-scale operations of mining since it generates the
desired concentrates at a comparatively lower cost when compared to the
traditional methods of processing like vat leaching, agitation, and flotation.

In-Situ Leaching:
In this type of leaching, we obtained uranium and copper only. The in-
situ leaching is a leaching method in which the metal values are directly leached
from their ores without the need to excavate the ore before leaching. The leaching
reagents which tend to dissolve the metals that are desired get pumped to the
deposit via the injection wells. The leachate gets collected in the centrally located
underground wells or dumps and then later gets pumped to the surface via the
recovery wells to undergo the further processing above the ground. The
permeability of the body of the ore is essential and in case the ore does not have
the natural porosity that is required, it gets fractured by the explosives. This allows
the injected solution from through the deposit. The ore that are suitable for the in-
situ leaching are generally situated below the aquifer. This method is used for the
extraction of the uranium, copper and several other soluble salts like potash, halite,
boron, and the magnesium
minerals.

Tank Leaching or Vat Leaching:

Vat leaching is a process which is carried out in the vats that have a
capacity ranging from 30 - 1200 tons. The sand used for leaching gets separated
from the slime in the cones, classifiers, V boxes and the collecting vats that are
filled by the distributors. The overflow in each of the mentioned cases is either the
finer portion of the ore or the slime. Leaching is the process which involves the
mixed and neutralized sand vat, water washes, enough contact with the weak and
the strong cyanide solutions, the rapid filling and discharging, and the aeration of
the solution and the sand. This process is very effective and cheap to clean the ores
wherein the process of fine grinding is not required for a better extraction.

Environmental Sustainability:
Following are the different procedures adopted for environment
sustainability:
 The adoption of pollution prevention as a method for examining pollution-
reduction opportunities before the point of effluent, emission, or waste
generation or discharge.
 The development and implementation of incentive-based offset and “cap and
trade” control measures (plant-specific and regional) for such issues as acid-
deposition precursors, including nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides.
 The establishment of an expanded number of voluntary initiatives aimed at
accelerating the reduction of toxic emission, expanding energy efficiency,
and other objectives.
 The initiation of cross-statutory or multisector initiatives that aspired to
identify and manage tradeoffs among statutes to maximize both
environmental protection and economic efficiency.
Question No 2
Discuss flow sheet diagram of typical mills treating ores?
Ans:

Run of mine ore

Crushing

Screening Gangue
Mineral extraction
Tailing Disposal
(Concentration)
Grinding

Waste Material
Classification Chemical extraction
(Smelting & Refining)

Communication Stage
Metal