Kevin Pérez Salinas

• Universidad Católica del Norte (Chile)

Mixed copper ores are challenging to process, where the treatments are expensive, resulting in low recoveries, with products that are not commercially viable. The proposed research aims a sustainable method to recover copper from a mixture of oxides and sulfides minerals. The procedure involves three stages: (i) leaching with aqueous ammonia soluti...

Studying the dissolution of chalcocite allows to understand the behavior of the most abundant secondary sulfide ore in copper deposits, while digenite (Cu1.8S) and other intermediate sulfides (Cu2−xS) are often associated with chalcocite. The most common mechanism of dissolution is by two stages, and chloride ions benefit the kinetics of dissolutio...

Covellite is a secondary copper sulfide, and it is not abundant. There are few investigations on this mineral in spite of it being formed during the leaching of chalcocite or digenite; the other investigations on covellite are with the use of mineraloids, copper concentrates, and synthetic covellite. The present investigation applied the surface op...

Chile is the world’s leading copper producer (28.3%) and maintains approximately 23.0% of current global reserves. Chile is faced with a significant risk posed by its collection of the most unsustainable and antiquated smelter operations among major copper producers worldwide. Moreover, forecasts also indicate a trend toward higher proportions of c...

Due to the scarcity of high-grade minerals on the Earth’s surface and the ever-increasing demand for critical metals required in the production of clean energy, the search for alternative sources has become essential. Ferromanganese crusts, a mineral resource located in the depths of the ocean, contain high concentrations of valuable metals, partic...

The average lithium content in the Earth’s crust is estimated at about 0.007%. Despite this, lithium is considered abundant and widely distributed, with significant extraction from various sources. Notably, the brines in the Salar de Atacama are highlighted for their high lithium concentration ~1800 mg/L. Lithium is currently recovered from these b...

Ferromanganese crusts are mineral resources distributed in the planet’s oceans. These deep-sea minerals stand out for their abundance and diversity of metals, with Mn and Co being the most abundant elements. These minerals are a good alternative to diversify the extraction of elements, which today are found at low grades on the Earth’s surface. For...

Polymetallic nodules, also called manganese nodules (due to their high content of this element), contain various valuable metals such as Cu, Ni and Co. These seabed minerals are a good alternative source of Co and Mn due to the decrease in the grade of mineral deposits on the earth’s surface. For the treatment of manganese nodules, acid-reducing le...

The resistance of kaolin aggregates to shearing in water clarification and recovery operations is a critical input in designing thickener feed wells. A recently formulated but already available criterion is used to determine the shear strength of flocculated kaolin aggregates. The flocculant is a high molecular weight anionic polyelectrolyte. The r...

The temperature of the flame of copper concentrates was determined through spectral measurements by using an optical and infrared spectrometer, where the experimental data were adequately processed by the two-colour pyrometer method. Experiments were carried out in a drop-tube, and the furnace temperature was 773 K ensuring the ignition of concentr...

Trends toward the widespread use of electric vehicles and renewable energy sources all point to continued growth in copper demand. This demand will be met mainly by new primary copper production, with recycling expected to contribute significantly to copper supply. Significant quantities of copper ore are presently mined from porphyry deposits in w...

Chalcocite is the most abundant secondary copper sulfide globally, with the highest copper content, and is easily treated by conventional hydrometallurgical processes, making it a very profitable mineral for extraction. Among the various leaching processes to treat chalcocite, chloride media show better results and have a greater industrial boom. C...

Cobalt (Co) is a potentially critical mineral. Most of its extraction is associated with a by-product of other mineral species such as copper, nickel and manganese, where it is a fundamental piece for activities that have increased their development in recent times such as electromobility, industrial and military applications. The cobalt minerals o...

Lithium has become a metal of enormous interest worldwide. The extensive use of recharge-able batteries for a range of applications has pushed for rapid growth in demand for lithium carbonate. This compound is produced by crystallization, by reaction with lithium chloride (in solution) and by adding sodium carbonate. Low sedimentation rates in the...

Lithium has become an element of great relevance in recent times, because among its various applications is the manufacture of batteries, and it is a vital part of the growing development of new products such as electric vehicles. On the other hand, the geographical distribution of lithium reserves is very heterogeneous. Of the existing minerals, o...

Multivariate models are a useful tool when studying the effects of independent variables on one or more dependent variables, since this approach allows modeling of the dynamics of complex systems based on simple analytical models with considerable certainty. Due to the decrease in the copper oxide mineral grades, leaching of copper sulfide minerals...

It summarizes strategic analyses regarding the future of copper concentrate exports, its problems and Chile's participation not only as a global copper producer, but as a refined copper producer. These analyses aim to develop a basis for modernization and possibly the construction of new foundries in Chile; are considered economic, competitive and...

It summarizes the current state of Chilean copper smelters from an environmental, major nation-to-global focus approach, current technologies for treating copper sulphurized minerals through pyrometallurgical treatments generate large amounts of pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, arsenic and other heavy metals that are present in smelters fumes. D...

Currently, there is a large amount of mineral resources not being exploited in large copper mining, a clear example is black copper minerals. These resources are generally not incorporated into the extraction circuits or are not treated, either in stocks, leach pads, or debris. These exotic minerals have considerable amounts of Cu and Mn, which rep...

Oxidized black copper ores are known for their difficulty in dissolving their components of interest through conventional methods. This is due to its non-crystalline and amorphous structure. Among these minerals, copper pitch and copper wad are of great interest because of their considerable concentrations of copper and manganese. Currently, these...

The marine nodules are an attractive alternative source for the extraction of manganese due to the scarcity of high-grade metals on the surface. In the present investigation, working parameters (Fe 2 O 3 /MnO 2 ratio and sulfuric acid concentration) were optimized for the dissolution of Mn from marine nodules using foundry slags. Finally, it is con...

Chalcopyrite is the most abundant copper ore and, consequently, the most utilised to produce metallic copper. The main route of treatment is through pyrometallurgical processes, but these emit significant quantities of SO 2 into the atmosphere (e.g. 182,000 t/year among all Chilean smelters), producing mighty concern in the community. In this conte...

Exotic type deposits include several species of minerals, such as atacamite, chrysocolla, copper pitch, and copper wad. Among these, copper pitch and copper wad have considerable concentrations of manganese. However, their non-crystalline and amorphous structure makes it challenging to recover the elements of interest (like Cu or Mn) by conventiona...

Chalcocite is the most important and abundant secondary copper ore in the world with a rapid dissolution of copper in an acid-chloride environment. In this investigation, the methodology of surface optimization will be applied to evaluate the effect of three independent variables (time, concentration of sulfuric acid and chloride concentration) in...

The effect of NaCl on the leaching of white metal from a Teniente Converter was investigated in NaCl-H2SO4 media under environmental conditions. The copper dissolution from white metal was studied using ferric ions in the range of 1–10 g/L, NaCl in the range of 30–210 g/L, and sulfuric acid in the range of 10–50 g/L. The test without NaCl produced...

Se resume análisis estratégicos con respecto al futuro de las exportaciones de concentrado de cobre, sus problemáticas y la participación de Chile no sólo como productor mundial de cobre, sino que como un productor de cobre refinado. Estos análisis apuntan a desarrollar una base para la modernización y posiblemente la construcción de nuevas fundici...