JOGMEC to Develop Wet Copper Smelting for Primary Sulfide Ore

Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) tries to develop wet copper smelting technology focusing on primary sulfide ore through the 3-year program to fiscal 2010 ending March 2011. JOGMEC tries to contribute to more resource availability under tight supply when copper industry has no method to smelt such sulfide ore. The primary sulfide ore is deepest part of copper mines. Sulfide ore with around 1% of copper is used through enrichment into concentrate with around 30% of copper. Lower grade secondary sulfide ore is used through bio leaching. However, primary sulfide ore with less than 0.5% of copper is left with no utilization method so far. The technology to utilize the unused resource is big challenge. JOGMEC sees the temperature is the point to leach copper out of the lower grade ore like yellow pyrite. JOGMEC’s metal resource laboratory fined the better leaching potential in more than 40 degrees of centigrade. JOGMEC tries to develop the technology by fiscal 2010 and moves to demonstration test stage in fiscal 2011-12.