A New Method for Recovering Fe(II) Sulfate,Copper, and Cobalt from Converter Slag

Abstract

The aim of this study was to recover copper and cobalt from the stock-piled converter slags at the Ergani Mining Co. in Turkey. Copper and cobalt are present in various chemical forms in the slag. For that reason, copper and cobalt were first converted to Cu₂S and CoS by passing H₂S gas through a slurry of ground slag in H₂SO₄ solutions. In the second stage, the slurry was filtered and it was determined that 30–40% of the iron and trace amounts of copper and cobalt passed into the solution as Fe²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Co²⁺ ions. The slag residue was then dried at 105°C for 2 h and roasted in a muffle furnace at about 600–700°C for different time periods. In the third stage, the mass obtained at the end of the roasting process was boiled with distilled water and filtered. The final solution was brought to volume and analyzed for copper and cobalt. It was determined that practically all of the Cu and 70.7% of the Co passed into the solution.