Molybdenite, leaching

Heyes and Trahar (1984) leached pyrite with cyclohexane and compared the extract with a sulphur-containing solution of cyclohexane in a UV spectra photometer as shown in Fig. 1.4, indicating that sulphur was present at the mineral surface. Therefore, the inherent hydrophobicity and natural floatability once thought to be typical of sulphides is now thought to be restricted to sulphides such as molybdenite and other minerals or compound with special structural features. The collectorless floatability that most sulphide minerals showed came from the self-induced or sulphur-induced flotation at certain pulp potential range and certain conditions. 

Low Re molybdenite in granite related Sn-W-Mo mineral systems are not the result of post crystallisation leaching of Re, nor are they evidence for a metamorphic origin (cf. Stein 2006). 

The concentrated molybdenite ore is then roasted in air, converting molybdenum sulfide to molybdenum trioxide M0O3. This is harvested in high purity by sublimation. An alternative is to leach molybdenite concentrate with dilute ammonia solution, which converts the metal to ammonium molybdate, (NH4)2Mo04. Molybdenum trioxide or ammonium molybdate product is then heated with hydrogen at elevated temperatures from 500 to 1,150°C in a furnace to produce molybdenum powder. 

Amine salts have been used to recover molybdenum from solutions arising from a variety of sources. Most of the western world s supply of this metal is derived from molybdenite (MoS2) concentrates obtained as a byproduct of copper production in the USA and Chile. Such concentrates are roasted to molybdenum(VI) oxide (volatile Re207 can often be recovered as a valuable byproduct from the roaster gases) and leached with dilute sulfuric acid to remove the copper from the crude M0O3 product. Some molybdenum also dissolves and can be recovered, for example, by the same technique as that practised at Kennecott s Utah Copper Division smelter,213 i.e. by extraction into a solution of a tertiary amine in kerosene at an aqueous pH value of about 1. 

More and more minerals are being found amenable to bacteriological leaching. The copper sulfide minerals, such as chalcopyrite (B31-B33, D22, D24), chalcocite (B35), and tetrahedrite (B32, D21) are among the best studied. The iron sulfide (pyrite) (B31, B33, C22, L4) and sulfur (B33, B34, C22, L4) oxidation processes are the best understood. Investigations on the leaching of nickel sulfides (D21, D24, T17), lead sulfide (E4), molybdenum sulfide (molybdenite) (B17, B31, D24), cobalt sulfide (D9), zinc sulfide (D24), and uranium oxide (D24, F2, H13, H14, Ml) have been reported in the literature. 

The decomposition of the lower sulfides of the heavy metals and the recovery of the metal as soluble salts and of sulfur in the elemental form have been demonstrated for pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, molybdenite, and associated metals such as nickel and cobalt. Pyrite and chalcopyrite are higher sulfides and to be amenable to this treatment have to be thermally decomposed at 600-650 C prior to leaching. The reactions with nitric acid are exothermic, and are carried out below 1 atm and at around 100°C. In addition to the sulfides, this technique has been applied successfully to the extraction of nonferrous metals from partly oxidized sulfide ores, fayalite slags, copper scrap, and other intermediate products, such as residue from electrolytic zinc plats. 

As mentioned earlier (see p. 374), organisms other than T. ferrooxidans have been demonstrated to catalyse the oxidation of ferrous iron at low pH. The Sulfolobus-like organism isolated by Brierley and Brierley (1973) had a temperature optimum of 70 C and oxidized both sulfur and ferrous iron the rates of oxidation are considerably lower than those recorded for T. ferrooxidans. The isolate, however, was able to oxidize molybdenite, M0S2, at 60°C and the rate was increased by addition of ferrous sulfate. The organism showed a unique tolerance to molybdenum (2 g l ) (Brierley and Murr, 1073). Whether organisms of this type play a significant role in the oxidation of sulfide minerals under the conditions of elevated temperature known to exist in leaching heaps, remains to be demonstrated. 

I. From molybdenite, the extraction may be made in several ways, (a) The mineral is roasted as long as sulfur dioxide is given off. The residue which contains MoOs is leached with dilute ammonia and the solution evaporated until the ammonium molybdate crystallizes. Japanese patent 37420 (1920) extracts the roasted ore with Na2COj solution, then precipitates calcium molybdate by adding CaCb. (6) The finely ground ore is heated with nitric acid and the MoOj dissolved in ammonia, (c) A current of chlorine is passed over the dry pulverized ore at a temperature of 208°. The molybdenum chloride distills over and may be separated from sulfur and other chlorides by fractional condensation.2 (d) A British patent describes the extraction with an alkaline sulfide or polysulfide solution which removes the molybdenum from the ore as the soluble thio-molybdates. These may be converted to the molybdates by acidification or by contact with more ore. 

Many hydrometallurgical processes or process steps are used to upgrade concentrates, process recycled scrap metal, or purify aqueous process steams. Examples are (I) the leaching of molybdenite concentrate to remove Knpurities ,ft (2) leaching of tungsten carbide and molybdenum scrap-, (3) removal of copper impurities in nickel anolyte by cementation on metallic ruckel and (4) various methods for treating nuclear fuel elements. 

The raw ore is pulverized using a series of crushers and rotating ball and/or rod mills to fine particles. This liberates the molybdenite from its host rock. The product is then beneficiated by flotation separation, subsequent regrinding, and reflotation to increase the molybdenite content of the new concentrate stream by steadily removing the unwanted material. The final concentrate may contain 70-90% molybdenite. An acidic leach may be employed to dissolve copper and lead impurities, if required. A schematic of the production of molybdenum compounds including M0S2 can be found in Ref. [13]. 

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