WO2016015168A1 - System of leaching cells with channelled discharge of the enriched solution and self-discharge of the leached solid material - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a system of leaching cells which includes a group of units of cells that make it possible to perform therein both the leaching process as such, the individual, channelled discharge of the enriched solution, and the self-discharge of the leached solid material from each cell, in which each one of the cells is made up of a primary filtering container, a secondary filtering component and a device for self-discharging the leached solid material; in which the primary filtering container consists of angled perimeter walls which have longitudinal channels for primary filtration; the secondary filtering component consists of a three-layer filter and a lower collector for the enriched solution; while the device for self-discharging the leached solid material consists of a lower discharge outlet having angled walls with gates that can move sideways, located at the bottom of the cell.

Description

 System of leaching cells with channeled evacuation of the enriched solution and self-evacuation of the leached solid material

DESCRIPTIVE MEMORY

The present invention relates to a system of leaching cells, applicable both in the field of mining and in the agricultural field, food industry or any field in which leaching processes are carried out, where the present system comprises a set of units of cells that allow them to carry out both the leaching process as such, the individual and channeled evacuation of the enriched solution, as well as the self-evacuation of the solid material leached from each cell.

This leaching cell system consists of a set of containers in which the controlled leaching process is carried out, where this system can act as a convenient and / or complementary alternative to the conventional leaching methods currently used (battery leaching, in trays, etc.) and it is feasible to be used for any type of leaching (heavy metal leaching, bacterial leaching, leaching of organic materials, etc.) also allowing the process to be managed in a controlled and self-sufficient way by including of self-evacuation of solids and individual channeling devices for evacuation of the enriched solution from each container, which, when channeled prevents exposure to the environment of said enriched solution, better controlling its management and avoiding direct contamination by direct squaring down. In the same way, the self-evacuation device of the present system, on the one hand, makes it possible to dispense with external machinery for extracting the material from the cells, and on the other hand, it allows to handle and channel its evacuation in a controlled manner to also avoid soil contamination. DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

It is known as leaching to the process of extracting soluble components of a pulverized solid by passing a liquid solvent through it, which can occur in both organic and inorganic species. In large-scale mining, for example, it is necessary to carry out chemical and physical processes that allow obtaining a product with a high degree of purity, since in the native state it is normally with other undesirable elements.

In extractive metallurgy, the hydrometallurgical process in which an acid solution is used is used to dissolve a species of interest present in extracted minerals and then become soluble salts then collected and sent to subsequent treatments to obtain the desired product (by example, extraction and electro-obtaining plants).

The main components of the leaching process are: material to leach, which is the one that contains the species of interest immersed in its interior; acid solution, which is the leaching fluid, that is to say, that dissolves the species of interest and extracts it from the material to be leached into the acid solution, which as its concentration of said species increases becomes known as the enriched solution, leaving the solid material as leached material.

Some examples of leaching are, obtaining sugar from beets using hot water as a solvent; recovery of vegetable oils from seeds (soy, cotton) with the use of organic solvents; extraction of dyes from solid materials by leaching with alcohol; gold, silver and copper mining, using acid solvents (prepared solutions of cyanide, sulfuric acid, components that depend directly on the desired reagents and products).

The nature of the leaching process generates design needs and responsibilities such as the need to have ample space to be able to carry out the process through the effect of liquid percolation through the porous material to be leached; have a perfect balance control of both solid material source of the desired product and solvent, to be able to perform efficiency and control measurements (for example, to quantify evaporation effects); have the flexibility to admit large variations of ore laws and leaching times, in case of leaching in mining, and the need to comply with strict environmental regulations due to the probability of contamination of subsoil and underground layers due to infiltration of polluting substances, as well as air pollution by evaporation of acid solutions.

In the mining area there are various methods through which leaching is performed. The main methods are:

1. Leaching in situ: This operation, which is sometimes called mining in solution, refers to leaching by percolation of minerals, through solvent circulation, over and through the body of the mineral. It is often used to obtain salt from deposits on the surface of the earth, by dissolving salt in water, which is pumped to a well, bat or court.

2. Dump leaching: This method is used to extract copper from minerals that have low grade. The material is generally a ballast generated in the exploitation of open pit mines, which is emptied on a slightly permeable surface and the aqueous solvent is added on the surface of the dump. It percolates through the bed by gravity. The strong solution obtained by the bottom of the dump is taken to the cement plant, where the copper is extracted and the remaining solution is returned to leaching.

3. Battery leaching: It is the oldest copper leaching technique. It is used in the leaching of oxidized porous ores, which are stacked on a previously prepared court. Ores are larger in diameter than dump waste. This method is not applicable for sulphides or ores that cause strong acid consumption. In the preparation of the court, the floor must be waterproofed and have a slight slope or inclination, to allow the collection of the solutions that are irrigated to the bed. The volume of the bed of the pile, has a wide range according to the scale of operation.

4. Leaching in bat or percolation: This technique consists of contacting a mineral bed with an aqueous solution that is injected in ascending or descending form, which percolates and floods the bat or pond. The geometry of the bed is established by the bat (rectangular, cylindrical), it must have a false filter bottom that allows the drainage of the solutions. The minerals to be treated by this method must have an intermediate granulometry and certain characteristics. This is one of the most frequently used methods in the mining industry.

5. Leaching by agitation: The copper ores to be treated by this method, must present a high law, because the ore must be finely ground, which entails higher costs in the contamination and in the consumption of acid.

Batting or percolation leaching is one of the methods mostly used in the mining industry, based on the use of large pond assemblies, where the normal arrangement of percolation ponds is in line (battery of trays) with or without common walls. In general, the ponds for handling solutions (rich solution accumulation, acid solution, intermediate washing solution, water, etc.) are located parallel to the battery of trays. The circulation of solutions (transfers, etc.) is carried out by centrifugal pumps with anticorrosive coating through also protected ducts. One side of the bat also serves the adjacent bat and thus has a series of 10 to 12 bats in line, which allows the use of a single mobile bridge in line, to execute the loading operation by means of conveyor belts and a delivery car . Similarly, the unloading is carried out with a clam crane that delivers, through a hopper to the trucks or a belt system, for the evacuation of the gravel.

The present invention, although it can be applied or replaced to most existing leaching methods, is directed in a more special way to the type of leaching by batting, where the present invention overcomes the disadvantages that they own the current ponds and methods of

The present invention allows leaching processes to be carried out efficiently and in a controlled manner, which is not currently achieved in traditional leaching systems, by automating its processes and greater efficiency in the treatment of the material, both inlet and outlet fluids. , as well as allowing controlled downloading from the same cell, which no traditional system currently allows.

The present invention is a system that allows the leaching process to be more efficient, because as it works in a smaller control volume the material can be treated and studied in a better way. A smaller control volume implies attacking the material locally, according to the characteristics that it possesses inside the cell, such as for example ore grade, homogeneity or concentration, thus allowing to modify certain working parameters, such as acid concentration or flow of it, position to spray, etc. In this way it is possible to extract almost entirely the mineral from the raw material brought from the milling, avoiding losses due to lack or excess of solvents, lost due to not completely extracting the mineral due to the little knowledge of its distribution.

The present invention is a cell system that allows working materials to be used efficiently since the conditions under which the material arrives are known and also allows efficient extraction, since the mineral is extracted almost completely. The cell acts independently, but also interacts with the other cells to receive low or high concentration solvents for reuse, depending on the working conditions measured globally. This characteristic of the system contributes to the efficiency of this technology, since it allows an adequate use of the total raw materials.

At present this does not work like this, be it a leaching by batteries, staggered or by trays, there is no local material handling taking into account its variables and conditions, current technologies are concerned with spraying a certain amount of acid (depending on the total amount of material) and there is no knowledge if the mineral is arranged homogeneously in the pile, cake or pan, therefore there is usually a high percentage from this that it is not possible to extract or there are high losses in the use of excess solvents, making the process inefficient; Therefore, the present invention, thanks to its configuration, allows to carry out said control and measurement processes.

It is important to note that if one speaks of a small control volume, it refers to a portion of material of adequate size to which certain variables can be controlled, but not to the fact that the system works with small volumes, since through an arrangement of physical disposition of the cells, it is possible to treat high amounts of material, but addressing them and controlling them in suitable portions (size capable of measuring their variables).

The present invention is a system that allows the leaching process more quickly, as a result of the fact that important control variables of the process are handled in the unit, which make it possible to make decisions that accelerate it. The work in a cell, allows to deal with quantities of solvents or manipulable fluids, controllable and most importantly variable in time, thus being able to adjust to the necessary requirements every certain time interval, so that in this way, the process is carried out as closely as possible. as fast as possible Currently, existing technologies cannot accelerate the process in this way, they are simply subject to the initial calculations of the amounts of acid and material, and the only control mechanism that allows them to vary the work parameters temporarily in order to change the speed of the process, is to obtain samples in the stack for their respective analysis and thus determine if it is necessary to add more raw material to speed up the process. The system allows leaching to be carried out faster, since it works in small control volumes, so the acids used take less time to drain or percolate, compared to current technologies that work with a large volume as a treatment unit, making the runoff time longer in this situation. The present invention is a system that allows the treatment of material in a flexible way, by treating and controlling the mineral locally, the cell can be adapted to the conditions it has. The cell acts as an independent unit and also interacts with the others, allowing the cell to adapt to its working conditions and receive the support of others, in terms of solutions and solvents. This has not been seen in existing technologies, since it works with a single large unit (in the case of cakes or batteries) or if you work in units such as in the case of leaching by trays, you are not interacting, they are treated separately and the variables in each of them are not measured.

The present invention is a system that allows the treatment of differentiated material, by this we mean that it is capable of treating fluids and solids separately, without having problems of mixing or leaking of material. The system manages to separate the fluid from the solid, thanks to the support of different elements inside the cell.

Current technologies, precariously treat materials separately, in cake and battery systems for example, generally the solution obtained is not filtered and carries a considerable amount of solid material of a non-negligible particle size. Also the treatment of solids is precarious, be it in trays, piles or cakes, after the mineral has been extracted, the material is usually taken out through backhoes or extraction stackers, being transported later by trucks or belts. The extraction process is slow and expensive, in addition to affecting the continuity of the production of the plant. Existing technologies do not achieve an adequate treatment of solids and liquids, having high losses due to incomplete mineral extraction and high solids handling costs. In contrast, in the present invention, the use of backhoes and heavy machinery is avoided, since the material is discharged inferiorly thanks to the design of the cell and an unloading system.

The present invention seeks continuity with the other production areas, thanks to the characteristics of its design, such as a cell with lower material discharge and a differentiated treatment of fluids through filters and channeling systems. Product that the solutions are filtered directly can be taken to the laboratory or other production areas, without losing connection between the processes of the plant. Also, as solids are discharged quickly, without the use of heavy machinery, and can be taken to some external transport system, it is possible to avoid transfer areas and the use of extra resources that stop the continuity of the production process. Current technologies have several shortcomings in what has to do with the connection in production, the system of batteries, cakes and pans, are dependent on the extraction of material using backhoes or other machinery, which hinder the continuity of the process productive.

The present invention is a system that allows the process of leaching in a cleaner way, because thanks to its structure the contact of the material and acids with the floor of the work area is avoided. The existing technologies are not very friendly to the environment, although they use protective layers made of high density polyethylene and geomembranes, there is a percentage of acid that is transferred to the ground by contaminating it.

The present invention is a system that allows the leaching process more dynamically, since as a result of the interconnection between cells (not necessarily consecutive) it is possible to transfer solutions between them as the case may be, delivering versatility and dynamism to the process. Current technologies work independently making the process almost static.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system of leaching cells, applicable both in the field of mining and in the agricultural field, food industry or any field in which leaching processes are carried out, where the present system comprises a set of units of cells that allow them to carry out both the leaching process as such, the individual and channeled evacuation of the enriched solution, as well as the self-evacuation of solid material leached from each cell.

This leaching cell system consists of a set of containers in which the controlled leaching process is carried out, where this system can act as a convenient and / or complementary alternative to the conventional leaching methods currently used (battery leaching, in trays, etc.) and it is feasible to be used for any type of leaching (heavy metal leaching, bacterial leaching, leaching of organic materials, etc.) also allowing the process to be managed in a controlled and self-sufficient way by including of self-evacuation of solids and individual channeling devices for evacuation of the enriched solution from each container, which, when channeled prevents exposure to the environment of said enriched solution, better controlling its management and avoiding direct environmental contamination by runoff down. In the same way, the self-evacuation device of the present system, on the one hand, makes it possible to dispense with external machinery for extracting the material from the cells, and on the other hand, it allows to handle and channel its evacuation in a controlled manner to also avoid soil contamination.

This leaching cell system comprises basic cell units that operate in conjunction with any other number of equal cells and arranged in different configurations depending on the need of each task. So this set of cells could be configured by cells arranged next to each other in line, or in turn, several lines of parallel cells covering a square, rectangular surface, etc.

The fact that the present system operates with a set of individual cells, means that in the background the leaching process is carried out simultaneously in smaller portions of material and thus allows a material treatment that is broader than just measuring input variables and process exit; so that the present system would require a systematic and individual control of each cell and its relevant variables such as, for example, quantity and deposition rate of material to be leached, as well as of irrigation rate and concentration of the enriched solution that is obtained after processing.

Each of the basic cell units of this system is capable of performing several specific functions thanks to its components, thus being able to contain and house the material to be leached in a condition of physical distribution that favors gravity drainage of the leaching solution through the solid material when confined in a funnel-shaped space.

The system is capable of separating the solid and liquid phases of the mixture of solid material and enriched leaching solution, by two different stages, but both carried out within the same cell, with a primary filtration system and a secondary filtration system; the first one made in a high area of the cell, through its surrounding walls and the second one, made in the area at the bottom of the cell, where said enriched solution is collected in a single final conduit.

The system is also able to perform a self-evacuation of the leached solid material, by means of a lower self-discharge system that empties the cell through sloping down walls that facilitate the displacement of the load by gravity and is evacuated by a single conduit that allows control the fate of said leached solid material.

In addition, the system is capable of creating special operating conditions, such as blowing air if required for bacterial leaching, providing insufflation means on the same cell walls.

The present system of leaching cells allows a smaller dosage of the material in smaller cells than the known ones, but at the same time allows the simultaneous processing of large quantities of material, although being portioned in smaller cells it provides greater possibilities of controlling the result of the process.

This system comprises a basic cell unit, which is composed of a primary filter container, a secondary filter component and a self-discharge device for the leached solid material; where the primary filter container is formed by perimeter walls that define a main cavity and that have a filtration system and enriched solution collection; the secondary filter component consists of a three phase filter located in the lower area of the cell; while the self-discharge device of leached solid material consists of a lower evacuator with discharge gates.

The primary filter container has a tapered downward shape, for example, funnel-shaped, formed by inclined surrounding walls, consisting of two major walls opposite each other and two minor walls opposite each other, which define an upper inlet mouth and a lower outlet mouth bounded by a lower perimeter edge, so as to allow a flow of both liquid and solid material favored by the effect of gravity.

To favor the runoff of the enriched solution, the leaching cell walls are equipped with a channeling system that allows the liquid to be collected not only from lower levels but from any height and position in the cell walls.

So each of the major walls and minor walls of the primary filter container are solid pieces, such as concrete, with an upper face folded in zigzag in inclined faceted portions, alternating with each other, which facilitate the runoff of the solution leaching through leaching material; defining longitudinal channels parallel to each other, where the enriched solution drains to said lower edge that defines the lower outlet; wherein said longitudinal channels are formed at the lower edge of the faceted portions inclined, while internal ducts are located on the upper edge of the joint of the inclined faceted portions.

Said longitudinal channels comprise along them a channel cover that acts as a filter, preventing the passage of solid material towards said longitudinal channels, but allowing the enriched solution to pass through the channel.

While the internal ducts of the upper edge are closed ducts that have upper transverse perforations that act as valves with a floating cover; through these closed ducts it is possible, for example, to blow air into the mixture, where this air would flow through the transverse perforations having said floating cover, cover type, which acts as a valve.

As it has been possible to notice, the primary filter container, by its configuration, has two types of slope that favor both the runoff of the enriched solution towards the low collection area, as well as favor the accumulation of the solid material towards the bottom of the cell . These two types of slopes that the primary filter container possesses are given in the first instance by the tapered downward inclination that the perimeter walls of the container possess, and on the other hand, there is the slope given in each of the faceted portions of the upper face of the walls, which when acquiring a zigzag-shaped surface with upper edges interspersed by lower edges, generate falling faces that direct the enriched solution towards said lower edges provided with a collecting channel.

Following the aforementioned perimeter walls that make up the primary filter container, in the direction of the bottom of the cell, a secondary filter component of the cell is disposed, where the enriched solution that drains along the parallel longiradinal channels falls. The objective

The material s or a so-called that is desired to be obtained, for this purpose in the cell base this secondary filter component is arranged that allows to retain and prevent solids from passing, leaving enough space for the solution to pass through the filter.

The size of the filter will depend directly on the granulometry of the material to be leached, and its materials will depend on the type of solution to be leached, as well as its reactivity and composition.

This secondary filter component is formed by a pair facing inclined collector supports and a pair of filter frameworks each disposed within each of said inclined collector supports.

This secondary filter component also has a pipeline that allows the entire enriched solution to be transported by gravity flow from inside the cell to a reception compartment from where the solution can be evaluated according to its composition and derived to some desired process.

The inclined collector support of the aforementioned secondary filter component has the essential function of collecting the infiltrated solution from the leaching cell, and then evacuating it, so that it confines within itself as well as confines the filter frames. It comprises a perimeter frame arranged around an inclined base plate, it has an upper edge and a lower edge, where said upper edge is in contact and in communication with the lower perimeter edge of the primary filter container, so that the enriched solution -which comes draining through the parallel longitudinal channels of the walls of said primary filter container - fall into this secondary filter component.

Said secondary filter component has a lower edge in which it is arranged a lower collecting channel that has an inclined lower face and an end face from which an evacuated tube of the enriched solution emerges outward and that joins a final collecting tube.

Said filter framework is arranged inside the perimeter frame and on the inclined base plate of the inclined collector support, each filter framework being composed of three filter plates arranged one above the other, where there is an upper filter plate which is a thick filter layer. , an intermediate filter layer that is a medium filter layer and a lower filter layer that is a thin filter layer; where the leaching material is filtered on said three filter plates that allow the enriched solution to pass to the base plate, which, when tilted, directs said enriched solution to the lower collecting channel.

This filter network serves as a physical and mechanical separation between the enriched solution to be obtained and the material to be leached that must be contained in the cell, to be subsequently evacuated. The size of the mesh spacing must be related to the average particle size or particle size of the material to be leached, so as to contain it in its entirety preventing part of it from escaping into the collection ducts of enriched solution.

As previously mentioned, each of the cells of this system also includes a device for self-discharge of the leached material, which is located at the bottom of the cell, arranged between the pair of inclined collector supports that make up the filter component Secondary and is the one that allows the lower evacuation by gravity of the solid material leached from the cell to the outside, where this self-discharge device comprises a container housing with an upper addressing cover, side entry gates of solids, a lower collector of said solids and a final outlet with a rotating gate.

Said container housing of the self-discharge device comprises walls perimeters that define a descending inclined internal cavity; an upper opening, lateral openings through which the leached solid material enters into the inclined internal cavity and a lower discharge opening of the leached solid material towards said lower collector.

The lower collector of the self-discharge device comprises larger side walls of an inclined lower side, a closed minor side wall, an inclined lower wall, an open minor side wall defining an outlet of solid material leached with a hinged gate.

The upper cover of the self-discharge device is arranged on the container housing covering the upper opening, where said upper cover is composed of two major walls inclined in opposite directions, which define an upper longitudinal edge and also comprises side walls.

Said side gates of the self-discharge device are arranged covering or uncovering the lateral openings through which the leached solid material enters into the internal cavity of the container housing and comprises fixed side plates that have a rail channel and which are fixed to the lateral openings. of the container housing and sliding curved plates that have lateral edges through which it slides in the rail channel of the fixed side plates.

The sliding curved plates have an external face and an internal face which are joined by a set of radial arms that have an axis end attached to a central longitudinal axis arranged in the internal cavity of the container housing, around which the Sliding curved plates move concentrically to move from a closed to an open state and vice versa.

Said sliding curved plates have a shape equivalent to the openings sides of the container housing, so that when said slidable curved plates move upwards they leave said lateral openings uncovered so that solid leachate material enters and is evacuated through the lower collector of the self-discharge device.

In use, the present leaching cell system operates as follows:

Before loading the leach cell with the material to be leached, the side discharge doors must be closed covering the side openings of the container housing.

The cell is loaded with material to be leached through its upper inlet port of the primary filter container, said material remaining covering the bottom and the inclined perimeter walls of the cell. The leached leach solution is applied to the material to be leached.

Once the leaching solution passes the material to be leached, this solution that has already carried rich material is transformed into an enriched solution, which in the first instance or part of it will drain through the inclined faceted portions of the inclined perimeter walls in the direction lower to enter through the parallel longitudinal channels that are in the lower edges of the inclined perimeter walls.

The enriched solution that passes through said parallel longitudinal channels drains to the lower perimeter edge of the primary filter container, where said lower perimeter edge transfers the enriched solution to the secondary filter component.

The material to be leached that is located directly on the mesh filter components is filtered directly over it, the leaching solution passing first through the upper filter plate which is a thick filter layer, then through the layer intermediate filter which is a medium filter layer and finally by the lower filter layer which is a thin filter layer.

The enriched solution from the parallel longitudinal channels of the primary filter container also passes through the mesh filter components.

All the enriched solution that has passed through the mesh filter components is collected in the lower collection channel of the secondary filter component and since it has an inclined lower face the enriched solution is directed by gravity towards the evacuator tube and from this it passes to the final collection tube .

Once the process of extracting the enriched solution is complete and the leaching material has been washed, the process of unloading the solid post-leaching material begins, which is carried out with the self-discharge device.

The side discharge gates are moved upwards clearing the entrance of the side openings of the self-discharge device and the leached solid material falls by gravity into the inclined internal cavity of the self-discharge device, where said solid leached material is driven down by effect of the inclined major walls of the upper cover and by the inclination that the inclined base plate of the secondary filter component also has.

The leached solid material goes down to the lower collector of said self-discharge device and since it has an inclined lower face the material automatically slides towards the outlet, while the abattable gate opens to let said leached solid material out. the outside.

The spatial arrangement of the leaching cell allows this system to work both for percolation leaching (figure 30a), either by drip irrigation or by sprinkling, as do current leaching piles with characteristic height (h) (figure 30c), as well as for flood leaching (figure 30b) , as is done in bats or autoclaves (figure 30d).

A detailed description of the invention will be carried out in conjunction with the figures that are part of this presentation, where:

Figure 1 shows an isometric view of a cell unit of the cell system for leaching. Figure 2 shows an isometric view of the cell system for leaching, in a linear arrangement of three cells.

Figure 3 shows an isometric view of the cell system for leaching, in a linear arrangement of four cells.

Figure 4 shows an isometric view of the leaching cell system, in an eight-cell array.

Figure 5 shows a front sectional view of a cell unit.

Figure 6 shows a top plan view of a cell unit.

Figure 7 shows an enlarged front view in detail of the lower area of a cell unit. Figure 8 shows an enlarged and detailed top plan view of the lower area of a cell unit.

Figure 9 shows an enlarged and detailed front sectional view of a longitudinal channel of a wall of the primary filter container.

Figure 10 shows an enlarged front view in detail of a wall of the primary filter container, where its upper profile is seen in zigzag.

Figure 11 shows an enlarged front view in detail of an upper duct of a wall of the primary filter container. Figure 12 shows a detailed front sectional view of a cell unit with the primary filter container, the secondary filter component and with the self-discharge device

Figure 13 shows an isometric view of the secondary filter component with the filter lattice of a cell unit of the cell system for leaching.

Figure 14 shows an isometric view of the inclined manifold support of the secondary filter component.

Figure 15 shows a side elevation view of the inclined manifold support of the secondary filter component. Figure 16 shows a front elevation view of the inclined manifold support of the secondary filter component.

Figure 17 shows a top plan view of the filter framework of the secondary filter component.

Figure 18 shows an enlarged and detailed isometric view of the filter framework of the secondary filter component.

Figure 19 shows an exploded isometric view of part of the primary filter container (two walls) and the self-discharge device in the center.

Figure 20 shows an isometric view of the self-discharge device.

Figure 21 shows an isometric view of the self-discharge device where only the container housing and the lower collector can be seen, without the top cover or the side gates.

Figure 22 shows a top plan view of the self-discharge device where only the container housing and the lower collector can be seen; without the top cover or side gates. Figure 23 shows a side elevation view of the self-discharge device where only the container housing and the lower collector can be seen; without the top cover or side gates.

Figure 24 shows an isometric of the self-discharge device, without the cover upper, with the side gates open, shifted up

Figure 25 shows an isometric of the self-discharge device, without the top cover, with the side gates in the closed state, displaced downwards.

Figure 26 shows an isometric in detail of the side gates and the fixed side plates of the container housing of the self-discharge device, where said side gates are in the open state displaced upwards.

Figure 27 shows an isometric in detail of the side gates and the fixed side plates of the container housing of the self-discharge device, where said side gates are in the closed state displaced downwards. Figure 28 shows a front and detailed section view of the lower area of the cell, where the side gates of the self-discharge device are seen in the open upward state.

Figure 29 shows a front and detailed section view of the lower area of the cell, where the side gates of the self-discharge device are seen in the closed down state.

Figure 30a shows a diagram of the leaching cell in operation for leaching by percolation, with irrigation or sprinkler system, as if it were a battery.

Figure 30b shows a scheme of the leaching cell in operation for flood leaching, as if it were a bat.

Figure 30c shows an example leaching stack.

Figure 30d shows an example of a leaching pan.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This cell system for leaching comprises a basic unit of cell (1) shown in Figure 1, which is replicable in the desired quantity and order, so that an arrangement of more than one basic unit of cells can be achieved arranged in three- or four-cell line, for example, as seen in figures 2 and 3, respectively, or on extended surfaces, such as eight-cell, as seen in figure 4.

Where said basic cell unit (1), as seen in Figure 1, comprises a primary filter container (100), a secondary filter component (200) and a self-discharge device (300) of the leached solid material; where the primary filter container (100) is formed by inclined perimeter walls defining a main cavity (103) and having a filtration system; the secondary filter component (200) consists of a three layer filter located in the lower area of the cell; while the self-discharge device (300) of leached solid material consists of a lower evacuator with side gates, located at the bottom of the cell and which allows emptying.

As seen in Figures 5 and 6, the primary filter container (100) has a tapered shape downward, formed by inclined surrounding walls, consisting of two major walls (101) opposite each other and two minor walls (102) opposite each other. , which define an upper inlet mouth (104) and a lower outlet mouth (105) delimited by a lower perimeter edge (106).

As can be seen in Figures 7 and 8, each of the major walls (101) and minor walls (102) of the primary filter container (100) are solid pieces with an upper face (107) folded into inclined faceted portions (108). ), alternating with each other, those that facilitate the draining of the enriched leaching solution to the lower outlet (105) of the primary filter container (100).

As can be seen in greater detail in Figures 9, 10 and 11, the longitudinal union between the inclined faceted portions (108) defines lower edges (110) and upper edges (112), having along each lower edge ( 110) a longitudinal channel (109), said longiradinal channels (109) being parallel to each other. While at along each upper edge (112) connecting the inclined faceted portions (108) internal ducts (111) are located.

As seen in Figure 9, said longitudinal channels (109) comprise along themselves a channel cover (113) that acts as a filter, preventing the passage of solid material towards said longitudinal channels (109); while, as seen in Figure 11, said internal ducts (111) of the upper edge (112) are closed ducts having upper transverse perforations (114) that act as valves with a floating cover (115).

Now, as best seen in Figures 12 and 13, the secondary filter component (200) is formed by a pair facing inclined collector supports (210) and a pair of filter frames (220) each disposed within each of said inclined collector supports (210), wherein said secondary filter component (200) is located at the bottom of the cell (1).

As can be seen better in Figure 14, the inclined collector support (210) comprises a perimeter frame (211) arranged surrounding an inclined base plate (212), has an upper edge (218) and a lower edge (219) , wherein said upper edge (218) is in contact and in communication with the lower perimeter edge (106) of the primary filter container (100) (see figure 12); while, as seen in Figures 14, 15 and 16, at its lower edge (219) there is a lower collecting gutter (213) that has an inclined lower face (214) and an end face (215) from where an evacuator tube (216) emerges from the enriched solution and that joins a final collection tube (217).

As seen in Figure 13, said filter framework (220) is arranged inside the perimeter frame (211) and on the inclined base plate (212) of the inclined collector support (210), where the leaching material is filtered in the filter network (220) that allows the enriched solution to pass to the base plate (212), which when tilted directs said solution

As best seen in Figures 17 and 18, said> filter netting (220) is composed of three filter plates arranged in a sieve, where there is no top filter plate (221) which is a layer of thick finite, a layer intermediate filter (222) which is a medium filter layer and a lower filter layer (223) that is a thin filter layer.

As shown in Figure 19, the self-discharge device (300) of the leached material is located at the bottom of the cell (1) and is the one that allows the lower evacuation, by gravity, of the solid material leached from the cell to the outside.

As can be seen in FIG. 20, this self-discharge device (300) comprises a container housing (310), a lower collector (320), an upper cover (330) and side gates (340).

As best seen in Figures 21, 22 and 23, said container housing (310) of the self-discharge device (300) comprises inclined perimeter walls (311) defining an internal cavity (312) inclined downward; an upper opening (313), lateral openings (314) through which the leached solid material enters the inclined internal cavity (312) and a lower opening (315) for the discharge of the leached solid material into said lower collector (320).

As best seen in Figures 21 and 23 in combination, the lower collector (320) of the self-discharge device (300) comprises larger side walls (321) of inclined lower side, a closed minor side wall (322), a wall inclined bottom (323), an open minor side wall (324) defining an outlet (325) of solid material leached with a flip gate (326). As can be seen in Figure 20, the upper cover (330) of the self-discharge device (300) is arranged on the container housing (310) covering the upper opening (313), where said upper cover (330) is composed by two inclined major walls (331) in opposite directions, which define an upper longitudinal edge (332) and also comprises side walls (333).

As seen in Figures 24 and 25, said side gates (340) of the self-discharge device (300) are arranged covering or uncovering the side openings (314) through which the leached solid material enters into the internal cavity (312) of the container housing (310) and comprise fixed side plates (341) that have a rail channel (342) and that are fixed to the side openings (314) of the container housing (310) and sliding curved plates (343) having lateral edges (344) through which it slides in the rail channel (342) of the fixed side plates (341).

As can be seen in figures 26 and 27, the sliding curved plates (343) have an external face (345) and an internal face (346) to which a set of radial arms (347) that have an end is attached. of axis (348) attached to a central longitudinal axis (349) disposed in the internal cavity (312) of the container housing (310), around which the sliding curved plates (343) move concentrically to move from a closed state to one open and vice versa.

As best seen in Figures 24, 25, 28 and 29, said sliding curved plates (343) have a shape equivalent to the side openings (314) of the container housing (310), so that when said sliding curved plates (343) they move upwards leaving said side openings (314) uncovered so that solid leachate material enters and is evacuated through the lower collector (320) of the self-discharge device (300).

In use, this system of leaching cells operates as follows: Before starting the leaching cell load with the material to be leached, the gates Discharge sides (340) must be closed covering the side openings (314) of the container housing (310).

The cell is then loaded with material to be leached through its upper inlet mouth (104) of the primary filter container (100), said material remaining covering the bottom and the inclined perimeter walls (101, 102) of the cell.

The leaching solution is applied to the material to be leached, for example, through an irrigation method.

Once the leaching solution passes the matenal to leach, this solution that has already carried rich material becomes an enriched solution, which in the first instance or part of it will drain through the inclined faceted portions (108) of the perimeter walls inclined (101, 102) in the lower direction to enter the parallel longitudinal channels (109) that are in the lower edges (110) of the inclined perimeter walls (101, 102).

The enriched solution passing through said parallel longitudinal channels (109) drains to the lower perimeter edge (106) of the primary filter container (100), where said lower perimeter edge (106) transfers the enriched solution to the secondary filter component (200) .

The material to be leached that is located directly on the mesh filter components (220) is filtered directly on it, the leaching solution passing first through the upper filter plate (221) which is a thick filter layer, then through the intermediate filter layer (222) which is a medium filter layer and finally by the lower filter layer (223) which is a thin filter layer. The enriched solution from the parallel longitudinal channels (109) of the primary filter container (100) also passes through the mesh filter components (220).

All the enriched solution that has passed through the mesh filter components (220) is collected in the lower collecting gutter (213) of the secondary filter component (200) and since it has an inclined lower face (214) the enriched solution is directed by gravity towards the evacuator tube (216) and from this it passes to the final collection tube (217).

Once the process of extracting the enriched solution is complete and the leaching material has been washed, the process of unloading the solid post-leaching material begins, which is carried out with the self-discharge device (300).

The lateral discharge gates (340) move upwards clearing the entrance of the lateral openings (314) of the self-discharge device (300)

The leached solid material falls by gravity into the inclined internal cavity (312) of the self-discharge device (300), where said leached solid material is driven downward by the inclined major walls (331) of the upper deck (330) and by the inclination that also has the inclined base plate (212) of the secondary filter component (200);

The leached solid material goes down to the lower collector (320) of said self-discharge device (300) and since it has a sloping bottom face (323) the material automatically slides towards the outlet mouth (325), while the gate folding (326) opens to let said solid material leached outwards. The spatial arrangement of the leaching cell allows this system to work for both percolation leaching (figure 30a), either by drip irrigation or by sprinkling, just as current leaching cells with characteristic height (h) do (figure 30c), as well as for flood leaching (figure 30b), as is done in trays or autoclaves (figure 30d).

Claims

Leaching cell system comprising a set of cell units that allow both the leaching process as such, the individual and channeled evacuation of the enriched solution, as well as the self-evacuation of solid material leached from each cell CHARACTERIZED because each of the cells is composed of a primary filter container (100), a secondary filter component (200) and a self-discharge device (300) of the leached solid material; where the primary filter container (100) consists of inclined perimeter walls (101), (102) having longitudinal channels of primary filtration; the secondary filter component (200) consists of a three layer filter and a lower collector of the enriched solution; while the self-discharging device (300) of leached solid material consists of a lower evacuator of inclined walls with sliding side gates, located at the bottom of the cell. Leaching cell system according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the primary filter container (100) has a tapered downward shape formed by inclined surrounding walls, two major walls (101) opposite each other and two opposite minor walls (102) each other, which define an upper inlet (104) and a lower outlet (105) defined by a lower perimeter edge (106). System of leaching cells, according to claim 2, CHARACTERIZED because each of the major walls (101) and minor walls (102) of the primary filter container (100) are solid parts with an upper face (107) folded in portions inclined facets (108), alternated with each other, which facilitate the draining of the leaching solution; defining longitudinal channels (109) parallel to each other, where the enriched solution drains to said lower edge (106); where said longitudinal channels (109) are formed in a lower edge (110) of joining of the inclined faceted portions (108), while qae in their upper edge (112) of joining of the inclined faceted portions (108) internal ducts (111) are located . System of leaching cells, according to claims 2 and 3, CHARACTERIZED in that said longitudinal channels (109) comprise along themselves a channel cover (113) that acts as a filter, preventing the passage of solid material towards said channels longitudinal (109); while said internal ducts (111) of the upper edge (112) are closed ducts having upper transverse perforations (114) that act as valves, with a floating cover (115). Leaching cell system according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the secondary filter component (200) is formed by a pair facing inclined collector supports (210) and a pair of filter frames (220) each disposed within each one of said inclined collector supports (210). System of leaching cells, according to claim 5, CHARACTERIZED in that said inclined collector support (210) comprises a perimeter frame (211) arranged surrounding an inclined base plate (212), has an upper edge (218) and an edge lower (219), wherein said upper edge (218) is in contact and in communication with the lower perimeter edge (106) of the lower outlet (105) of the primary filter container (100); while on its lower edge (219) there is a lower collecting channel (213) that has an inclined lower face (214) and an end face (215) from which an evacuator tube (216) emerges from the enriched solution and that joins a final collection tube (217). 7. System of leaching cells, according to claim 5, CHARACTERIZED in that said filter framework (220) is arranged inside the perimeter frame (211) and on the inclined base plate (212) of the inclined collector support (210), each filter network (220) being composed of three filter plates arranged one above the other, where there is an upper filter plate (221) that is a thick filter layer, an intermediate filter layer (222) that is a medium filter layer and a lower filter layer (223) which is a thin filter layer; where the leaching material is filtered in said three filter plates that allow the enriched solution to pass to the base plate (212), which, when tilted, directs said enriched solution to the lower collecting channel (213). 8. System of leaching cells, according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED because said self-discharge device (300) of the leached material is located at the bottom of the cell (1) and is the one that allows automatic lower evacuation, by gravity, of the leached solid material, where this self-discharge device (300) comprises a container housing (310), a lower collector (320), an upper cover (330) and side discharge gates (340). 9. Leaching cell system according to claim 8, CHARACTERIZED in that said container housing (310) of the self-discharge device (300) comprises perimeter walls (311) defining an internal cavity (312) inclined downward; an upper opening (313), lateral openings (314) through which the leached solid material enters the inclined internal cavity (312) and a lower opening (315) for the discharge of the leached solid material into said lower collector (320). 10. Leaching cell system according to claim 8, CHARACTERIZED in that said lower collector (320) of the self-discharge device (300) comprises larger side walls (321) of lower side inclined, a minor lateral wall oaiaid (322), an indingent lower wall (323), an open minor side wall (324) defining an outlet (325) of the solid material leached with a flip gate (326). 11. Cell system for IbdviaaoícL, according to claim 8, CHARACTERIZED in that said upper cover (330) of the self-discharge device (300), is arranged on the container housing (310) covering the upper opening (313), where said upper cover (330) is composed of two inclined major walls (331) in opposite directions, which define an upper longitudinal edge (332) and also comprises end side walls (333). System of leaching cells, according to claim 8, CHARACTERIZED in that said lateral gates (340) of the self-discharge device (300) are arranged covering or uncovering the lateral openings (314) through which the solid material leached into the cavity enters internal (312) of the container housing (310) and comprise fixed side plates (341) that have a rail channel (342) and which are fixed to the side openings (314) of the container housing (310), plus plates sliding curves (343) that have lateral edges (344) through which it slides in the rail channel (342) of the fixed side plates (341). 13. System of leaching cells, according to claims 8 and 12, CHARACTERIZED because said definable curved plates (343) have an external face (345) and an internal face (346) to which a set of arms is attached radial (347) having a shaft end (348) attached to a central longitudinal axis (349) disposed in the internal cavity (312) of the container housing (310), around which the sliding curved plates (343) are they move concentrically to move from a closed state to an open state and vice versa. 14. System of leaching cells, according to claims 8 and 12, CHARACTERIZED because said sliding curved plates (343) have a shape equivalent to the lateral openings (314) of the container housing (310), so that when said Sliding curved plates (343) move upwards leaving said lateral openings (314) uncovered so that solid leachate material enters and is evacuated through the lower collector (320) of the self-discharge device (300).