As the world's top copper producer, Chile's output is significant, reaching 5.3 million metric tons in 2024 and accounting for over 20% of global production in 2023, per Statista.
To sustain its leadership, the national mining industry faces the imperative of increasing copper sulfide and oxide concentrate production. This demands optimizing current mineral extraction and processing systems.
A new production matrix for copper concentrates would incur a significant increase in water consumption during flotation, the key mineral separation process.
In response to this challenge, Usach's Department of Metallurgical Engineering developed an innovative method for optimizing copper extraction from sulfide ore concentrates. This technology is the result of a collaborative effort by researchers Dr. Patricio Navarro Donoso, Dr. Cristián Vargas Riquelme (current Dean of the Faculty of Engineering), and Daniel Espinoza Espinoza, head of the Hydrometallurgy Laboratory.
This innovative method utilizes sodium persulfate and sodium chloride in an acidic medium to pretreat and dissolve copper sulfide concentrates. Dr. Patricio Navarro highlights its efficiency: "This development recovers 70% to 80% more copper within 5 to 7 days, a significant reduction in both processing time and water use compared to traditional methods."
Crucially, this innovation retains the iron present in the concentrates in solid form, preventing its dissolution into the leached solution. "This not only simplifies the downstream solvent extraction and electro-winning processes but also significantly enhances copper purity and cuts operating costs," the researcher explains.
Addressing key challenges in the mining sector, this method offers a significant advance for Chile, fostering more efficient and sustainable local production of copper sulfide concentrates like chalcopyrite and bornite. Crucially, it also revitalizes and creates new opportunities for existing hydrometallurgical plants that are currently operating below capacity.
Developed at Usach, this innovative technology is now in the Chilean patenting process, with support from the Vice-Rector's Office for Research, Innovation, and Creation's Technology Management Department.
Discover more about our University's technology portfolio on the Technology Management Department website.