Noranda and Mintek to study copper bioleaching

Noranda (NOR-T) has decided to research the bioleaching of copper ore, taking its cue from three large base metal producers: Chile’s Codelco, Britain’s Billiton and Mexico’s Industrias Peoles.

The Toronto-based major has teamed with Mintek, the South African government-owned minerals-research company, to study the bio heap-leaching of chalcopyrite material.

Noranda will spend $400,000 over two years on work aimed at improving the process and establishing its commercial viability.

“To be able to heap-leach chalcopyrite would be a major technological breakthrough for the industry, and we have partnered with Mintek to benefit from their well-established expertise in bioleaching,” says John Peacey, Noranda’s director of innovation.

Since 1997, Mintek has been working with BacTech Enviromet (YBA-V) in an effort to develop bacterial-oxidation techniques for dealing with difficult base metal and gold ores. Currently, Mintek, BacTech and Peoles are carrying out a feasibility study in Mexico that is examining the viability of building a commercial copper-zinc bioleach plant (T.N.M., Jan. 31-Feb. 6/00).

Peoles will earn the rights to Mintek-BacTech copper bioleach technology in Mexico and five other Latin American countries by contributing $6.6 million toward building the plant and completing a feasibility study.

BacTech recently reached a breakthrough in laboratory-scale bioleaching of refractory gold, by achieving significant cyanide reductions and recoveries as high as 99.5%.

BacTech has also completed engineering designs for a refractory-gold treatment plant in China’s Shandong province. Site preparation is under way, with operations expected to start in the first quarter of 2001.

In another development, Geoff Donohue has become BacTech’s president. Alan Spence remains chairman.