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BENEFICIATION TECHNOLOGY
ArticleName Development of the methodology for geotechnological testing of complex copper-gold-iron-containing ores for the design of a heap leaching system
DOI 10.17580/or.2026.03.02
ArticleAuthor Sekisov A. G., Rasskazova A. V., Konareva T. G., Kirilchuk M. S.
ArticleAuthorData

Mining Institute of the Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (Khabarovsk, Russia)

Sekisov A. G., Doctor of Technical Sciences, Deputy CEO for Research, sekisovag@mail.ru
Rasskazova A. V., Candidate of Technical Sciences Leading Researcher, annbot87@mail.ru
Konareva T. G., Senior Researcher
Kirilchuk M. S., Junior Researcher

Abstract

The geological and technological characteristics of complex copper-goldiron-containing ores for the assessment of their processing by different methods, including heap leaching are examined in this paper. It is proposed to sort out geological and technological subtypes of ores based on iron content. Crushed ore with a high iron content should be processed by magnetic separation, followed by pelletizing and heap leaching of copper and gold from the tailings. Ore with a low iron content, after fine crushing, is sent to direct heap leaching of gold and copper. Ore is pre-treated (cured) with solutions containing highly active oxygen-containing oxidizers synthesized through electrochemical processing. After curing, heap leaching is carried out by irrigation with activated solutions containing oxidizers and a complexing agent for copper and gold. The feasibility of testing such ores for the design of a heap leaching system using standard and activated process solutions under various hydrodynamic irrigation regimes is substantiated.
The research was conducted using the resources of the Center for Collective Use of Mineral Resources, which is funded by the Russian Federation through the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation under Agreement No. 075-15-2025-621.

keywords Complex copper-gold-iron ores, refractory copper and gold, magnetic separation, methodology, ore testing, activation preoxidation, heap leaching, activated solutions, electrochemical treatment, hydrodynamic regimes
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