GB357366A - Process for the recovery of cobalt or compounds thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A process for the recovery of cobalt and cobalt compounds from copper pyrites comprises roasting and melting the pyrites to form a matte, Bessemerizing the matte and continuing the blowing until most of the colbalt or cobalt sulphide has passed into the slag which is then further treated to obtain the cobalt or cobalt compounds. The roasted ore may be melted in a reverberatory or a shaft furnace and in Bessemerizing the matte the blowing is continued in the ordinary way as long as only iron is oxidized which forms a slag practically free from cobalt. The blowing is continued until the greatest part of the cobalt passes into the slag. This slag is treated most conveniently in the wet way when it may be lixiviated with sulphuric acid, and the cobalt compounds are obtained by crystallization or precipitation. In another method the slag is mixed with a sulphur-containing material such as pyrites and subjected to a chloridizing or sulphatizing roasting with subsequent lixiviation. The slag may also be melted with sulphides preferably in an electric furnace to form cobalt sulphide and recovered as a copper matte which may be again Bessemerized or roasted and the slag or roasted product thus obtained may be treated like the slag coming directly from the Bessemer converter. Another way of heating the cobalt containing slag is to subject it to a reducing melting in an electric furnace to form a copper iron cobalt alloy which is dissolved in acid and subjected to precipitation or electrolysis. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 (3) (a) comprises also roasting the slag before the lixiviation with sulphuric acid. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.ALSO:A process for the recovery of cobalt and cobalt compounds from copper pyrites comprises roasting and melting the pyrites to form a matte, Bessemerizing the matte, and continuing the blowing until most of the cobalt or cobalt sulphide has passed into the slag which is then further treated to obtain the cobalt or cobalt compounds. The roasted ore may be melted in a reverberatory or a shaft furnace and in Bessemerizing the matte the blowing is continued in the ordinary way as long as only iron is oxidized which forms a slag practically free from cobalt. The blowing is continued until the greatest part of the cobalt passes into the slag. This slag is treated most conveniently in the wet way, when it may be lixiviated with sulphuric acid, and the cobalt compounds are obtained by crystallization or precipitation. In another method the slag is mixed with a sulphur-containing material such as pyrites and subjected to a chloridizing or sulphatizing roasting with subsequent lixiviation. The slag may also be melted with sulphides preferably in an electric furnace to form cobalt sulphide and recovered as a copper matte which may be again Bessemerized or roasted and the slag or roasted product thus obtained may be treated like the slag coming directly from the Bessemer converter. Another way of treating the cobalt-containing slag is to subject it to a reducing melting in an electric furnace to form a copper iron cobalt alloy which is dissolved in acid and subjected to precipitation or electrolysis. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 (3) (a) comprises also roasting the slag before the lixiviation with sulphuric acid. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.