Although the processing costs are higher, ultimately more copper can be extracted.
On the other hand, while copper sulfide ores are less abundant, they contain higher amounts of copper. Although this requires more ore to be extracted and processed, this process is less expensive, so oxides can still be mined at a profit. Copper oxides are more abundant near the surface, but are considered low-grade ore, with a lower concentration of copper. The most common types of ore, copper oxide and copper sulfide, undergo two different processes, hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy, respectively, due to the different chemistries of the ore. Oxide and sulfide ores undergo different processes to be purified into 99.99% pure copper.Ĭopper processing is a complicated process that begins with mining of the ore (less than 1% copper) and ends with sheets of 99.99% pure copper called cathodes, which will ultimately be made into products for everyday use.
0 kommentar(er)
