Copper’s biggest mystery is finally cracking

For those that are interested.

BHP Group is already an investor in Jetti Resources and has now spent months negotiating for a trial plant at its crown jewel copper mine, Escondida in Chile.



Jetti Resources and the University of British Columbia have published new scientific research that underpins Jetti’s technology for enabling copper production from low-grade primary sulfide ores, such as chalcopyrite, which comprises around 70% of remaining global copper reserves.

The peer reviewed paper, “The overlooked mechanism of chalcopyrite passivation” was published in Acta Materialia, and sheds new light on how chalcopyrite behaves when subject to leaching and provides a better understanding of the nature of the passivation layer, which has been the topic of debate and dispute for several decades. The passivation layer forms on the surface of chalcopyrite and other primary sulfide minerals, preventing leaching from occurring effectively.

In the study, the team used electrochemical analysis to discover that chalcopyrite is an n-type semiconductor in an accumulation state, not in a depletion state as has been commonly assumed to date.

Jetti’s researchers demonstrated how during oxidative leaching, such as bioleach or chloride leach processes, a copper rich surface forms on the surface of the chalcopyrite. This rich product layer is a p-type semiconductor.

Analysis of the data allowed the scientists to discover that, as leaching progresses, the n-type semiconductor chalcopyrite surface and the p-type semiconductor of the product layer form a p-n junction diode which hinders the electrochemical leaching process as it blocks the transfer of electrons.

Note: Freeport-McMoRan Inc. began implementing Jetti’s technology at an Arizona mine this year, while rival Rio Tinto Group is planning to roll out a competing but similar process called Nuton.

Cheers

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