What is the name of the process usually used to extract copper from its ore?
In an acid leach copper extraction circuit for leaching copper values from copper ores using a water-immiscible organic solvent solution containing a copper extractant and an acid strip solution, the improvement wherein the stripped organic solvent solution is contacted with copper-free fresh aqueous acid to remove additional copper values therefrom, and then the resulting super stripped organic and the copper-containing aqueous acid are sent to the copper extraction circuit. Most copper ores contain only a small percentage of copper metal bound up within valuable ore minerals, with the remainder of the ore being unwanted rock or gangue minerals, typically silicate minerals or oxide minerals for which there is often no value. The average grade of copper ores in the 21st century is below 0.6% Cu, with a proportion of ore minerals being less than 2% of the total volume of the ore rock. A key objective in the metallurgical treatment of any ore is the separation of ore minerals from gangue
