EXTRACTION OF COPPER AND ZINC FROM MIXED-METAL CYANIDE SOLUTION USING SOLID PHASE EXTRACTION

REMOVAL OF TOXIC METALS FROM WASTEWATER STREAMS HAS BECOME A PROBLEM OF INCREASING NATIONAL IMPORTANCE, AS A RESULT OF INCREASING CONCERN FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT, AND INCREASINGLY STRINGENT WASTE DISPOSAL REGULATIONS. CHROMATOCHEM, INC., HAS DEVELOPED AN ECONOMICAL AND EFFECTIVE NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR THE REMOVAL OF LOW LEVELS OF TOXIC METAL IONS FROM WASTEWATER STREAMS, USING SOLID PHASE EXTRACTION (SPE). THIS SPE TECHNOLOGY USES METAL-SELECTIVE REGENTS COVALENTLY BOUND TO A SILICA SOLID SUPPORT BY MEANS OF A PROPRIETARY HYDROPHILIC TETHER MOLECULE. THIS RESEARCH WILL USE SPE TO ADDREESS THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS RESULTING FROM THE COPPER AND ZINC CYANIDE WASTE PRODUCTS CREATED BY HEAP-LEACHING PRACTICES USED IN THE GOLD MINING INDUSTRY. THE PHASE I WORK WILL INVESTIGATE METHODS TO SEPARATE THE COPPER AND ZINC CYANIDE COMPLEXES FROM GOLD CYANIDE. THE BENEFITS OF SUCH SEPARATION WILL INCLUDE: DECREASED INTRODUCTION OF METAL CYANIDE COMPLEXES INTO THE ENVIRONMENT, AND REDUCED MINING COSTS BY RECYCLING OF CYANIDE AND THE RECOVERY OF COPPER AND ZINC METALS.