Robsinson SX Report 2008 Word 2007 Rev1.1

Summary
The Solvent Extraction (SX) circuit operated successfully during the Robinson
2007/2008 Copper Demo Plant Campaign under all flowsheet conditions. While overall
targets and tenors in the process solutions changed frequently during the campaign,
Solvent Extraction was able to easily adapt while continuing to operate well. With the
addition of EAL under the Modified CESL Process 4 conditions, Solvent Extraction was
barely affected and continued to operate successfully without any major issues. The
campaign average stream compositions can be observed in Table 1and Table 2.
Table 1 Robinson SX Organic Compositions
Cu Iron
(g/L) (mg/L)
SO 7.4 0.7
3° LO 17.7 2.8
4° pLO 12.9 9.3
Total LO 17.5 1.7
Table 2 Robinson SX Aqueous Compositions
Cu Free Acid pH Cl- Iron

(g/L) (g/L) (g/L) (g/L) (g/L)
3° PLS 40.4 9.4 1.4 10.1 3.8
3° Raffinate 12.0 51.0 - 9.7 3.8
4° PLS 14.0 2.9 1.9 11.0 3.1
4° Raffinate 0.8 23.6 - 11.0 2.8
Wash Feed 8.3 35.9 - 0.03 0.15
Wash Product 20.2 33.4 - 1.0 0.60
SE 38.4 178.0 - 0.04 0.62
PE 49.4 163.0 - 0.04 0.62
The Robinson SX flowsheet consisted of one, two stage extraction stage under both the
CESL Process 4 and Modified CESL Process 4 conditions.
Table 3 Robinson SX Circuit Organic:Aqueous Ratios

O:A
3° SX 2.7:1
4° SX 3.0:1
Both the 3° and 4° O:A ratios were slightly below target which might explain the fact that
the loaded organic left the extraction stages at only around a operations average of
~17.7 g/L when maximum loading tests would indicate that the organic could be loaded
up to 20.1 g/L Cu. Most conventional SX plants run at steady state conditions and are
therefore able to operate using O:A ratios as targets. Unlike most plants, the Robinson
SX circuit decided to target 3° and 4° Raffinate Cu targets of 12 g/L and 0.6 g/L
respectively. This was due to the fact that PLS tenors fluctuated frequently, and
sometimes over a relatively wide range.
Impurity transfer to the electrolyte was low during the campaign, however excessive
chloride transfer to EW was an issue for a limited amount of time. The SX wash circuit
operated at organic to aqueous ratios of 80:1 to 120:1 at certain points during the
campaign in an effort limit/control chloride transfer at different times.
The main leach liquor stream, the 3°PLS, was pre-treated via contact with kerosene in
the KPT circuit in an effort to minimize the entry of suspended solids and surfactants
into the main SX circuit. The 3°KPT removed 19% of the solids entering during periods
of operations when Pressure Oxidation was using lignosulphonate as their sulphur
dispersing surfactant, and it removed 11% of the solids entering during the period of
time when Pressure Oxidation was using OPD as their sulphur dispersing surfactant.
Solvent Extraction Production and Consumption
Process Solutions
Table 4 presents shows the distribution of each solution processed through the entire
SX circuit during the entire Robinson Demo Campaign, including commissioning, from
August 2007 to June 2008.
Table 4 Robinson Solvent Extraction Production and Consumption

Stream Total (m3) Average FR (L/min)
3° PLS/Raffinate 2489 16.3
4° PLS/Raffinate 91.2 0.91
Wash Feed 61.6 0.40
Wash Product 61.6 0.40
Pregnant Electrolyte 6255 40.2
Stripped Electrolyte 6656 41.1
Stripped Organic 6551 39.5
Loaded Organic 6616 40.1
Reagents & Consumables

Five reagents were used in the solvent extraction circuits: clay, Celite®, LIX 973N®,
kerosene and hydrogen peroxide (35 or 50%). Clay is a multifunctional reagent that is
used to treat both crud recovered from the circuits, and to rejuvenate the KPT kerosene
and circuit organic. Celite® is a diatomaceous earth based filter-aid which was used
when pressing out clay and crud solids in the clay/crud treatment circuit. This was the
first time Celite® had been used for this application at the demonstration scale, and it
proved to work extremely well. LIX 973N® is usually added when tests indicate that
the extractive strength of the organic inventory has been weakened either by
degradation or by dilution. For the Robinson Campaign, however, LIX 973N® was only
ever added to increase the overall organic inventory.
Kerosene was used in the KPT circuit and more kerosene was added when the
kerosene was lost to emulsions and subsequently clay/crud treatment. There was a
further increase to the kerosene inventory with the addtion of a treated kerosene tank
adjacent to the KPT. The treated kerosene tank (~900 L) served as a “take and
replace” system for the kerosene bleed in order to improve disengagement rates
across, and consequently overall performance of, the 3°KPT. The only kerosene
product added during the Robinson Campaign was Penreco Conosol 170ES.
Table 5 Robinson Solvent Extraction Reagent Consumption
Stream
LIX 973N® L 1500
Kerosene (Penreco Conosol 170ES) L 1050
Clay – crud treatment kg 412
Clay – clay treatment, kerosene kg 85.5
Clay – clay treatment, SO kg 71.1
Celite®– clay/crud treatment, all kg 24.2
Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2), 35% L 885
Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2), 50% L 365
Table 5 displays the amount of hydrogen peroxide added during the latter stages of the
campaign from February 2008 onwards. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), at both 35 and
50% concentrations, was added in order to pre-treat the 3°PLS prior to entering the
KPT. The hydrogen peroxide served to oxidize unwanted surfactants in the 3°PLS and
was added only as a last resort when the KPT formed a stable emulsion which could not
be fixed by merely removing and replacing “tainted” kerosene with clay treated
kerosene. The addition of hydrogen peroxide will be discussed in further detail in the
Non KPT Surfactant Removal section of this report.
Solvent Extraction Feed and Product Composition
Feed Composition
Table 6 outlines the composition of the Pregnant Leach Solutions (PLS), Wash Feed,
and Stripped Electrolyte (SE) processed during the Robinson Campaign. These
streams were sampled every 3 hours and submitted for copper, chloride, free acid (FA),
and impurity analysis.
Table 6 Robinson SX Feed Composition
Cu Free Acid pH Cl Iron

(g/L) (g/L) (g/L) (g/L) (g/L)
3° PLS 40.4 9.4 1.4 10.1 3.8
4° PLS 14.0 2.9 1.9 11.0 3.1
Wash Feed 8.3 35.9 - 28 ppm 0.15
SE 38.4 178.0 - 41 ppm 0.62
Product Composition
Average SX raffinate, Wash Product, and Pregnant Electrolyte (PE) compositions are
shown in Table 7 below.
Table 7 Robinson SX Product Composition

Cu Free Acid Cl Iron
(g/L) (g/L) (g/L) (g/L)
3° Raffinate 12.0 51.0 9.7 3.8
4° Raffinate 0.8 23.6 11.0 2.8
Wash Product 20.2 33.4 1.0 0.60
PE 49.4 163.0 41 ppm 0.62
Figure 1 and Figure 2 present the daily composite Cu tenors for the 3°PLS/3°Raff and
4°PLS/4°Raff respectively based on the amount of 3°PLS or 4°PLS processed for the
entire Robinson campaign.
60.0
50.0
40.0
Cu (g/L)
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
3°PLS Processed (m3) 3°PLS 3°Raff
Figure 1 Robinson SX 3°PLS and 3°Raff Copper Tenors
20.0
19.0
18.0
17.0
16.0
15.0
14.0
13.0
12.0
Cu (g/L)
11.0
10.0
9.0
8.0
7.0
6.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
4°PLS Processed (m3) 4°PLS 4°Raff
Figure 2 Robinson SX 4°PLS and 4°Raff Copper Tenors

Solvent Extraction Operating Conditions
This section summarizes the operating parameters used in the KPT and SX circuits.
The key data is summarized in Table 8 below.
Table 8 Robinson Solvent Extraction Operating Conditions

3° KPT 3° SX 4° SX Wash Strip
Temp °C 35 35 27 32 35
Overall O:A - 2.5 2.7 3.0 116 1.0
Mixer O:A - 2.5 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.0
Mixer PC - A/C A/C – O/C A/C – O/C A/C A/C – O/C
Mixer RT min 6.1 6.2 13 7.7 4.2
Settler RT min 21 27 22 52 33
SSF m /hr/m2
3
3.4 1.9 1.1 1.2 1.6
ASV m/hr 7.8 8.1 2.0 5.7 5.2
P/C = phase continuity, RT = retention time, A/C = aqueous continuous, O/C = organic continuous, SSF =
specific settler flow, ASV = advance settler velocity
The values presented in represent average values for the entire campaign. Many of the
parameters stay the same whether or not SX was running at reduced feed rates. Some
of the parameters, such as RT change however as 3°PLS flowrates increased or
decreased.
Temperature
The target temperature for each of the circuits was 40 °C based on the target
temperatures expected for the full scale operations. A temperature hotter than 45°C
would promote degradation of the organic based on information supplied by the
manufacturer. Cooler temperatures result in higher viscosity organic, which can then
lead to slower disengagements in the circuits. The temperatures in the Robinson Demo
Plant SX circuit during the campaign varied from 35 to 40 °C for 3°SX and 25 – 30°C for
4°SX. Lower temperatures could have provided part of the explanation for low DRs
during the Robinson Campaign.
Overall O:A Ratio

The overall organic to aqueous ratios (O:A), which is a ratio of the total organic fed to a
stage to the total aqueous fed to a stage, is dictated by the copper concentration of the
incoming PLS stream. Since the stripped organic at 40% LIX can load approximately
10-11 grams (during Robinson) of copper for every liter of organic, the circuit must
operate at the target O:A ratio to achieve the target raffinate concentration. The
relationship is as follows:
Target O:A = (PLS [Cu] – Raffinate [Cu]) g Cu /L Aqueous = L organic/L aqueous

12 g Cu / L organic
If only stripped organic was used to feed the 3° circuit, the following O:A would be
required:
Target O:A = (40 – 12) g Cu /L Aqueous = 2.4L organic/L aqueous

11 g Cu / L organic
Since partially loaded organic from 4° SX also fed the 3° circuit, the actual O:A target is
higher, at 3.0 L/L, to take into account the reduced loading capacity.
The 3° O:A ratio for the SX circuits were slightly below target (2.7 L/L as opposed to 3.0
L/L) during the campaign for all stages except 4° SX. This stage regularly operated at
a higher than target overall O:A ratio to achieve the lowest possible raffinate copper
target.
Mixer O:A Ratio

Mixer O:A ratio refers to the ratio of the total organic and aqueous input into a given
mixer and includes any streams recycled from the settler back to the mixer. The target
mixer O:A ratio was 2.0:1 for the KPT and around 1:1 for the other mixers.
The extraction and stripping targets of 1:1 or 1.1:1 are selected because:
 They give the optimum organi-aqueous interfacial area hence optimum kinetics
 They are ratios which permit operation in either the organic or aqueous
continuous modes (important in controlling entrainment and crud) (see next).
The KPT mixer averaged significantly higher at 2.5 for the entire campaign as high O:A
ratios were being run during the first half of the campaign in 2007. This higher ratio was
being run by the operators as they thought at the time that higher O:A ratios would
improve disengagement rates; this is not the case. Values for the mixer O:A ratio for the
KPT starting in February 2008 averaged out to be 2.0:1. All the other mixers were on
target.
Mixer Phase Continuity

The Robinson Demo SX circuits operated phase continuities under a “traditional split”
philosophy. This resulted in a two-step process, extraction and strip, both of which were
operating both aqueous continuous and organic continuous depending whether or not it
leaving from the first or second stage of the extraction or strip. This is why both are
listed in rows found in Table 8. Please refer to Appendix XX for more information on
phase continuity.
The KPT circuit first operated organic continuous in 2007, albeit not intentionally, and
after the problems experienced with the KPT in October/November 2007 it was
subsequently operated aqueous continuous, as per design, for the remainder of the
campaign. The KPT should operate aqueous continuous in order to produce a fine
emulsion that can promote the formation of crud. The formation of the emulsion is
crucial for transfer of the incoming surfactants and solids into the kerosene phase and
subsequently interfacial crud. The KPT’s performance is discussed further in the KPT
Results part of the Metallurgical Discussion section of this report.
Mixer Retention Time

Mixer retention times are a function of the total flow of aqueous, organic and internal
recycles. Mixers generally target a three minute retention time, to allow sufficient
reaction time. The demo plant mixer retention times were on average 5 to 6 minutes,
with 4°SX being the only exception where low flowrates let longer retention times. In
general, the relatively high retention time in the mixers was due to the low flowrates of
the aqueous and organic into the mixers, in comparison with the existing equipment
sizes.
Settler Retention Time

Settler retention time was calculated from the total settler volume divided by the total
flow of solution (aqueous, organic and internal recycles) into the settler. Longer
retention times allow more time for phase separation and typically result in lower
entrainment values but also mean more organic inventory. A trade off must be made
between acceptable costs of inventory and entrainment levels. Longer retention times
also mean that there are fewer solution turnovers per day and streams take longer to
reach equilibrium.
The demo settler retention times varied greatly depending on the circuit but ranged
anywhere from 21 to 33 minutes with the exception of the oversized wash cell, which
had settler retention times averaging around 52 minutes. The specific wash cell used
was designed to handle a larger copper thoughput (incoming 1° and 3° streams) in
terms of T/d, yet Robinson always ran below this value (only one 3°PLS stream based
on the CESL Process 4 flowsheet). Intuitively, wash entrainments should have been
much lower than when exiting the other settlers; however, this was offset by the fact that
over-mixing was taking place in the wash mixer (please see Chloride Transfer to
Electrowinning and Aqueous Entrainments). Overall, the low flow rates in 3° and 4° SX
made the settler retention times relatively high.
Specific Settler Flow

Specific settler flow (SSF) is the relationship between the total volumetric flow of
solution, and the horizontal cross-sectional area of the settler. The units are cubic
meters of solution flow per hour per square meter of surface area (m3/hr/m2). The SSF
values were below the design value of 3.5 m3/hr/m2 in all circuits, exhibiting SSFs in the
range of 1.2-1.9 m3/hr/m2 (with the KPT at 3.4 m3/hr/m2). These values could have
been increased closer to the design value however it was copper extraction and the 3°
Raffinate targets which provided the restrictions from doing so.
Advance Settler Velocity

Advance settler velocity (ASV) is the linear velocity of the liquid as it flows through the
settler. A typical industry value is ~60 m/hr. The settlers in the demo plant operated at
extremely low ASVs based on the overall flowrates and sizes of the equipment used.
Robinson Campaign SX Availability
Availability for the Solvent Extraction circuit for the entire Robinson Campaign was high
at 91.6%. The leading causes of internal downtime were the emulsion problems
experienced in the 3°KPT circuit, mostly in the months of October and November 2007.
This internal downtime was eventually responsible for plant downtime due to the time
spent on the issue’s associated testwork and troubleshooting. The details surrounding
this issue are discussed in great detail in further sections of this report.
Other causes of internal downtime were caused by minor mechanical issues such as
pump failures, valve replacements etc. and were never associated with plant wide
downtime.
Solvent Extraction Metallurgical Discussion
The Solvent Extraction circuited operated successfully during the Robinson Campaign
by transferring the leached copper ions to a high purity copper electrolyte suitable for
the electrowinning of copper. The overall objective of Solvent Extraction during the
Robinson Campaign was to ensure the extraction of copper coming into the circuit in the
form of a pregnant leach solution to a high purity copper electrolyte suitable for
Electrowinning.
The section of the report will be broken down into several sections:
 Kerosene Pre-Treatment (KPT) Results

o Suspended Solids Removal
o KPT Surfactant Removal
o KPT Surfactant Characterization
o KPT Emulsions
o Kerosene Clay Treatment
o Surfactant Removal
 Solvent Extraction (SX) Results
o Organic Copper Loading
o Chloride Transfer to Electrowinning
o Iron Transfer to Electrowinning
o Strip Circuit Performance
o Kerosene and Organic Health
o Surface and Interfacial Tensions
o Disengagement Rates
o Aqueous Entrainments
o Coalescer Performance
o Clay Treatment
o Crud Treatment
Kerosene Pre-Treatment (KPT) Results
The purpose of the Kerosene Pre-Treatment (KPT) circuit is to remove suspended
solids and surfactants upstream of the main Solvent Extraction circuit to minimize the
loss of valuable extractant to crud formation. This section summarizes the data from
the 3° KPT circuit and breaks the data presented down into two distinct periods of
operation; lignosol as the sulfur dispersant in PO, and OPD as the sulfur dispersant in
PO. These two periods of time were chosen as OPD addition coincided with the overall
reduction of surfactants entering the 3°KPT.
Suspended Solids Removal

In regards to suspended solids, the performance of the KPT circuit is measured
quantitatively by the amount of solids it removes from the 3°PLS. The 3°PLS enters the
circuit from the cooling tower which is ultimately fed by both the PO thickener and CCD
#1 O/F.
The Robinson Campaign provided a wide range of solids being fed to the KPT at
different times. Most often it seemed quite random with several odd process upsets
occurring in either the PO thickener or the CCD circuit. This made it quite difficult to
determine any trends; consequently, it would appear that there was no conclusive data
collected during the Robinson Campaign that could sufficiently prove that the KPT
circuit consistently and effectiuvely removes solids from the incoming PLS stream.
There were at least 3 instances during the campaign where the KPT had to be drained
in order to remove large amounts of solids from the settler all of which were directly
linked to upstream process upsets. These solids had settled to the bottom of the settler,
as opposed to at the aqueous-kerosene interface where “crud-forming” solids are
usually found. Solids that do not tend to be “crud-forming” report to the 3° Raffinate.
Solids that pass on from the KPT to the SX circuit have been wetted with kerosene, and
will sit in the organic phase at the interface of the 3°SX settlers. These solids behave
differently from aqueous wetted solids which will often affix to air bubbles and eventually
float to the top of the organic phase in the settler.
KPT Surfactant Removal
With large, and often excessive, amounts of surfactant (Lignosol), flocculant, or
coagulant used in upstream operations, the KPT circuit acts to serve as a warning to
operations staff that high levels of surfactants will be entering the circuit and also acts
as a means of reducing or removing these unwanted surfactants. Minimizing the
quantity of surfactants that enter the main SX circuit slows the contamination of the
organic extractant and reduces the need for circuit organic clay treatment.
The surfactants entering the circuit proceed to form a semi-stable, and sometimes
stable, emulsion in combination with the ppm solids entering the circuit. This emulsion
is confined to the KPT and dissipates over time across the settler which eventually
results in the removal or reduction of the surfactant from the PLS prior to entry into the
main SX circuit. The KPT kerosene captures these contaminants which are then
removed when the KPT circuit kerosene is clay treated.
Total Organic Carbon (TOC) analysis was used during the Robinson campaign as a
method to measure the approximate surfactant content of the PLS entering and exiting
the 3°KPT. TOC data was collected on a semi-regular basis prior to 2008 operations
and was only more seriously considered due to two major process upsets which
occurred in the KPT circuit. TOC data was then collected on a regular basis during
Robinson 2008 operations and is presented in Table 9.
Table 9 Robinson SX TOC Data

3° TOC
Pre KPT 623
Lignosulphonates Post KPT 621
Post SX 568
Pre KPT 144
OPD Post KPT 138
Post SX 142
TOC values were collected two or three times per shift and sent for immediate analysis,
no composite assays were taken. Averages represent the data series of TOC values
obtained as presented in Figure 3.
1400.0
1200.0
1000.0
TOC (ppm)
800.0
600.0
400.0
200.0
0.0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
PLS Processed Pre KPT Post KPT
Figure 3 Robinson Campaign SX 3°PLS TOC Values
From the TOC data collected, there appears to be no reduction in Total Organic Carbon
across the 3°KPT circuit. This is not to say that there was no reduction in surfactant
across the KPT as the TOC values exiting the circuit were never qualitatively
characterized as few analytical methods exist that can perform this characterization; as
a result, TOC values would measure both deleterious surfactants and kerosene exiting
the circuit with no differentiation. Up-stream circuit surfactants are known to do damage
and contribute to organic losses to and in SX circuits by way of creating a stable
emulsion. On the other hand, if small amounts of kerosene were to exit the KPT by way
of kerosene entrainments in the PLS, no damage would be done to the SX circuit as the
same kerosene is used as organice diluent making up 60% of the circuit organic
inventory. This makes it difficult to determine whether or not the KPT actually works in
terms of removing surfactants.
KPT Surfactant Characterization

Some attempts at characterization of the surfactants present in the PLS was attempted
by Cognis as well as the assay lab at CESL. Cognis made an attempt to identify
specific compounds shortly after problems were encountered in the KPT circuit due to
the formation of a completely stable emulsion in late 2007. These problems resulted in
an extended period of plant downtime and will be discussed later in KPT Emulsions
section of this report.
While no official report was created by Cognis, Michael Virnig did report so CESL his
findings in regards to two PLS samples submitted in late November 2007.
The first test performed by Cognis (on the first solution sample) seemed to inidicate the
presence of some organic sulphonates which were coming from the breakdown of the
lignan sulphonate or from “some other source.” Cognis was also under the belief that
there was a possible presence of polyacrylic acid. The second sample was tested and
recovery of the organic was completed by carrying out an extraction using ethyl acetate.
After evaporating the ethyl acetate, a gummy material was left behind; this lead Cognis
to believe that perhaps dissolved silica was contributing to the issues faced in the KPT
circuit. Please refer to Appendix XX for a complete review of Micheal Virnig’s email
report.
CESL also performed some in-house UV-Vis scanning testwork in order to hopefully
characterize the lignosol in the incoming 3°PLS however the results of this testwork
proved inconclusive. There had also been some discussion regarding getting some
outsourced analysis done using relatively new LC-MS methodology, however this was
never explored beyond this discussion phase.
KPT Emulsions
Soon after the commissioning phase of the Robinson Campaign, and starting in mid-
October 2008, the KPT began to experience extremely poor disengagement rate times
leading to extremely stable emulsions across the settler portion of the cell. This
problem eventually shut down the entire plant and was a major source of SX internal
downtime (IDT) as well as overall plant downtime. Essentially, there was no
distinguishing between either of the solutions in the KPT; it was all one stable emulsion.
Ultimately, there was no 3°PLS to feed the 3°SX circuit, just an emulsion caught up in
the KPT. Several possible causes were identified as sources of the poor
disengagement across the KPT, however, after lengthy problem-solving sessions, the
emulsion was eventually attributed to upstream surfactants overloading the 3°KPT.
The original process upset occurred in mid-October, and was eventually attributed to an
overdose of flocculant in the CCD circuit along with a large amount of ppm solids
entering with the KPT via the 3°PLS as well. The results of this can be seen in Figure 4
and Figure 5. The problem seemed to dissipate over time (a few days) and no major
PLS or Kerosene treatment took place to rectify the situation. It was deemed to be a
one-time problem caused by an instance of flocculant addition.
Figure 4 KPT Surfactant Emulsion October 2007 Figure 5 KPT Surfactant Emulsion
(with Crud Solids) October 2007
The KPT then proceeded to operate fairly well until mid November until another process
upset brought the KPT back to the same condition, this time attributed to an overdose of
coagulant in the PO thickener. Similar to the last event, the emulsion dissipated over
the next few days of operations as the PLS was treated through the autoclave (see
below). A third emulsion occurred in mid-to-late November, yet this time there was no
specific event associated with the formation of the emulsion. The following is an
excerpt from the Process Upset File Note describing the events which occurred in the
KPT circuit in mid-to-late November:
“During dayshift on November 14, 2007, the stable emulsion [in the KPT] was unable to
be controlled by an operator due to higher flowrates (55-60L/min - accidental) to the
KPT. The emulsion formed very quickly, was stable and appeared to look like ‘fat from a
frying pan’. Operations were halted to allow the emulsion to disengage, however this
did not occur and as such, the KPT was drained.
Once the KPT was drained of the emulsion it was noted that all the solids appeared to
stick to the sides of the mixer and settler and could only be removed by pressure
washing the KPT. The emulsion was sent to the crud/clay treatment circuit for
treatment. Once all of the kerosene had been treated the KPT was re-filled with a
combination of re-covered kerosene and fresh kerosene.
Within an hour of resuming operations on November 15, 2007, the emulsion had re-
formed and the plant was once again shut down. Disengagement rates were tested on
PLS solution with both fresh and circuit kerosene. Both tests resulted in poor
disengagement rates and emulsion formation, indicating that the problem was external
to the KPT. All solutions surrounding the autoclave as well as to and from the KPT were
tested for disengagement rates (with kerosene) and all of these tests showed poor
disengagement times and emulsion formation.
It was thought that lignosol contributed to the emulsion formation so various tests were
performed in the Operations Testwork and Bench labs and a treatment method was
developed for improving the disengagement rate of all solutions.
Demo plant PLS was collected from the PO cooling tower and was introduced into the
bench autoclave twice for a 30 and 60 minute retention time. Both test conditions were
150°C at 200 psi with the addition of oxygen. PLS was then cooled to 40°C and
measured for surface tension and disengagement rates. Both the 30 and the 60 min
tests showed improvements in disengagement rates with no emulsion present, although
neither showed an improvement in surface tension.
Treating all solutions through the autoclave at 150°C and 200psig for a period of 30
minutes or more was found to decrease the disengagement time from greater than
three minutes to 44 – 49 seconds, and prevent/eliminate the emulsion formation.
Results from the tests can be see in Figure 10 in the Surfactant Removal section of this
report and full details of the testwork and implementation surrounding the treatment can
be found in Appendix XX.
All solutions that would not be passing through the autoclave before entering the KPT
(back-end solutions) were processed through the autoclave to remove excess
surfactants present in the solution. These solutions were processed until the
disengagement rate of the solutions in PO (conditioning tank, PO thickener and cooling
tower) and the CCD #1 O/F were less than 80 seconds.
On November 20, 2007, following the treatment of all backend solutions through the
autoclave, operations resumed. Within five hours, an emulsion had once again formed
within the KPT, halting operations. Although this emulsion was different in appearance,
extended disengagement times were resulting in crud runs in E5 & E6 and large
aqueous entrainments in the coalescers. This was a bad sign as it showed the results
of this problem were starting to extend into the main SX circuit.
The disengagement rates of all solutions in the plant, including those that would go
through PO before entering the KPT, were tested, and all were found to have
unacceptable disengagement rates, with the exception of the CCD circuit solutions.
Further testwork showed that the total organic carbon (TOC) content in the PLS has
been ~1200ppm since October 15, 2007, when an initial process upset had been seen
in the KPT. Historical campaign TOC averages are ~300 – 500ppm TOC.
As a result, all solutions in the plant (both front and back end) were treated through the
autoclave until the solutions had acceptable disengagement rates (<80s) and/or TOC
content (400ppm), prior to restarting operations.”
Whether it was Lignosol, flocculant, coagulant or any mixture of the three, it appears
that these surfactants can remain in the 3°PLS stream and possibly lead to the
contamination of the kerosene in the KPT. In terms of measuring incoming surfactants,
various methods are employed throughout the industry with approximately the same
amount of limited success. CESL uses the TOC method to quantify the surfactants in
the 3°PLS coming into the KPT; however surfactant characterization is extremely
difficult. Testwork performed at CESL in November 2007 on the bench scale seemed to
indicate that there was indeed a relationship between TOC values and 3°PLS/kerosene
disengagement rate times (Figure 6). Circuit data, unfortunately, would not be able to
back up this claim due to too much error associated with different operators performing
DR tests in slightly different ways (despite an SOP).
Disengagement Rate vs Solution
TOC
140
120
Disengagement Rate, sec.

100
80
60
40
20
*Graph Formatting Note:
0 Graph taken from File Note
0 200 400 600 800 1000 Produced in November
2007.
Total Organic Carbon in Solution, ppm
Figure 6 Disengagement Rate vs. TOC Value Testwork – November 2007
When closely examined, the data indicated that as TOC values in the 3°PLS began to
rise or were already high, the KPT would begin to experience problems associated with
a completely stable emulsion. The events at which stable emulsions occurred are
marked by the dashed green lines in Figure 7. While the first two upsets could be
explained, the third was more difficult, yet TOC values were still high after solution
“treatment” through the autoclave (see Non KPT Surfactant Removal section below). It
was believed that lignosol, added as a sulphur dispersant in PO, could have been acting
as an underlying cause of the high TOC values the entire time. The dashed red line in
Figure 7 represents a target TOC level of <500 ppm.
1600.0
AUTOCLAVE
1400.0 TREATMENT
PO COAG LIGNOSOL?
O/D
1200.0
1000.0
CCD FLOC
TOC (ppm)
O/D
800.0
600.0
400.0
200.0
0.0
05-Oct-07 15-Oct-07 25-Oct-07 04-Nov-07 14-Nov-07 24-Nov-07 04-Dec-07 14-Dec-07 24-Dec-07
Date
Figure 7 Robinson Process Upsets and PLS TOC Values in Late 2007
There also seemed to be a relationship between the process upsets and high ppm
solids entering the KPT. Although relationship between the two is evident based on the
date presented in Figure 8, there are several possible justifications for this relationship.
There is a possibility that increased solids were bringing over increased amounts of
surfactants leading to a more stable emulsion across the KPT. The second possibilty is
that the higher TOCs affected the settling of the solids in the 3°PLS or maybe had an
impact on the effectiveness of the flocculant and coagulant used across the PO and
CCD circuits. Regardless of the mecahnism, there is still a clear relationship which is
presented in Figure 8.
2500.0
2000.0
2
R = 0.703
PLS TOC (ppm)

1500.0
1000.0
500.0
0.0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
PLS Solids (ppm )
Figure 8 Relationship between 3°PLS ppm Solids and TOC Values (Late 2007)
For the first half of the campaign (in 2007) TOC values were taken and tested around 2-
3 times per week. After the emulsion issues, TOC values were then tested on a very
regular basis ((2 times/shift)) for the rest of the Robinson Campaign.
After the more serious emulsion issues in 2007, TOC values in the PLS remained
comparatively low for the rest of the campaign, although there were still several
incidents with KPT emulsions, most of which were rectified quickly by other means
(Surfactant Removal section below). Most of the emulsions in the later stages of the
campaign were attributed to the variety and often changing lignosulphonate surfactants
used in Pressure Oxidation. This is especially evident with the introduction of OPD at
the beginning of May 2008.
With the plant, and Pressure Oxidation, operating under OPD, TOC values dropped
sharply as indicated in Figure 9, and the KPT operated extremely well with no visible
signs of an emulsion for the entire month. This positive trend continued even while
plant runtime and availability were extremely high. It should also be noted that TOCs
also began to drop slight with the introduction of the EAL circuit, which occurred in late
April 2008, just prior to the operations under OPD, however this could have been due to
the sudden increase in plant inventory shortly after the beginning of the Modified CESL
Process 4 operations.
1600.0
1400.0
EAL Operations OPD addition
begins April 17 2008 begins
1200.0
1000.0
TOC (ppm)
800.0
600.0
400.0
200.0
0.0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
PLS Processed (m3)
Figure 9 Robinson Campaign Pre-KPT 3°PLS TOC Values
There seemed to be other mitigating factors involved with the KPT emulsion formation
in late 2007. The KPT was running organic continuous for the most of the Robinson
operations in 2007, and organic continuous operations can lead to longer
disengagement rate times across the KPT. Running organic continuous also called for
a large kerosene recycle back to the mixer while the circuit was operating. In late 2007,
there was never enough kerosene in the KPT to keep the kerosene level in the organic
launder from falling below it’s recycle port in the launder; as a result, extremely large
amounts of air were being brought into the mixer portion of the cell. Air is a leading
contributor to the formation of stable emulsions, especially when combined with high
surfactant loads and high ppm solids. This simple air entrainment issue went unnoticed
while it continued to compound the emulsion problems for a significant period of time.
While surfactants (Lignosol, flocculants, coagulants etc.) were the main cause of the
KPT emulsion formations, it can’t be forgotten that there were a large number of other
issues that only helped to make the situation worse during this period of operations.
Ultimately, these process upsets led to increased awareness of the problems which can
occur downstream from the leach plant depending on what type of surfactant gets
added, and at what dosage. These process upsets served as “eye-openers” leading to
changes in the circuits such as increased KPT kerosene clay treatment (see KPT
Kerosene Clay Treatment below), the addition of a new PLS holding tank and other
methods of surfactant removal to occur prior to the KPT (Non KPT Surfactant section
below).
KPT Kerosene Clay Treatment

The KPT kerosene is clay treated on a bleed basis to control the build up of deleterious
surfactants and solids within the circuit. The kerosene “bleed” to clay treatment was
originally set to 0.5% of the kerosene throughput through the circuit. This value was not
strictly followed as it was found that by increasing the kerosene “bleed” during circuit
operations, it was easier to prevent a stable emulsion from forming across the 3°KPT.
Operators took the liberty of “bleeding” and replacing (with clay treated kerosene)
kerosene during operation, ultimately looking at improving the circuit during periods of
runtime rather removing a specific amount based on a pre-established bleed
percentage. During the campaign, the kerosene inventory was increased (by means of
a large tank adjacent to the KPT) in order to sustain the kerosene inventory during large
batch clay treatments (300 - 350 L). This approach appears to have been sufficient to
maintain overall 3°KPT kerosene health.
A total volume of 9.5 m3 of kerosene were removed, clay treated and replaced during
the entire Robinson campaign. This represents approximately 0.35% of the total
kerosene flow for the entire campaign; this value falls slightly short of expectations,
however the 0.5% target was set only after the new year before demo operations
restarted in February 2008. This value includes regular removals during operations as
well as larger removals at times when the KPT would experience more severe emulsion
problems. As most of the kerosene bleed took place in the 2008 calendar year, SX
operators were successful in bleeding 0.52% of total kerosene throughput for the
February-June 2008 period.
Surfactant Removal
Several means of removing the deleterious pre-KPT surfactants were undertaken during
this Robinson Campaign, with operations eventually settling on a final method in
February 2008; the following is a list of the different methods attempted during the
campaign, first in an effort to promote faster disengagement and eventually in an effort
to reduce total organic carbon (TOC) values prior to the KPT:
Addition of Pre-KPT PLS Tank (“Tank 5”)

The Robinson flowsheet originally called for the KPT to be directly fed from the PO
Cooling Tower, which was a mixture of Autoclave Discharge solution the CCD #1 O/F
solution. The cooling tower operated at temperatures no higher than 38°C for reasons
specific to its respective circuit. This meant that the KPT was being fed PLS at
temperatures of ~35°C into a cell, which would be holding kerosene at ambient
temperatures (especially after periods of downtime). Originally, it was noticed that the
KPT would experience emulsion issues quite often during KPT start-up and therefore it
was believed that perhaps the lower temperatures were causing problems.
Disengagement rates depend strongly on temperature, as is discussed later in this
report, and it was therefore decided to add a PLS heating tank into the flowsheet prior to
the KPT for the purpose of heating the 3°PLS. The set-up for the tank included
recirculation of the PLS in the tank through a hot-water heated shell and tube heat
exchanger. While the addition of this tank was not a mean of removing surfactants prior
to the KPT, it was a necessary part of the flowsheet which helped pave the way for the
eventual pre-treatment method of choice: hydrogen heroxide addition (to be discussed
below).
“Autoclave Treatment” Testwork & Treatment

Lignosol and other organic contaminants tend to degrade when exposed to normal
autoclave conditions. These conditions include 150°C and 200 psi pressure maintained
through the addition of oxygen. Exposing the contaminated solutions to these
conditions for a period of 30 minutes or more was found to increase the disengagement
rate and help to reduce emulsion formation across the KPT as shown in Figure 10.
450.00
400.00 Emulsion
Emulsion
350.00
300.00
DR Times (s)
250.00
200.00
150.00
100.00
No Emulsion No Emulsion
50.00
0.00
0.00 15.00 30.00 60.00
Time in Bench Autoclave (mins)
Figure 10 Robinson Bench Autoclave PLS Treatment and DR Times (November 2007)
Results from the testwork showed that autoclave treatment was beneficial at 30 mins
and 60 mins RT both in terms of TOC reduction and disengagement rates. It was
therefore decided to process back end inventories through PO at high flowrate and
reduced solids input to degrade lignosol contamination, thereby improving
disengagement rate in an attempt to reduce emulsion formation.
At the Demo Plant scale, the “Autoclave Treatment” method was marginally successful
at best; it was extremely impractical and led to high impurities content in the plant
inventory due to flashing; futhermore, it seemed to cause unwanted problems for the
autoclave itself. This method was abandoned in late November 2007. Fortunately, the
plant, and especially the KPT operated well for the firs two weeks of December;
however, as indicated above in Figure 7, TOC levels in the PLS were beginning to rise
to dangerous levels shortly before the extended holiday shutdown at the end of
2007/beginning of 2008.
Activated Carbon Testwork & Treatment

Testwork was performed in early February 2008 in order to determine whether or not
PLS could be treated with activated carbon prior to entering the KPT. The basis for the
use of activated carbon as a treatment method was the hope that activated carbon
would work to adsorb the long chain surfactants in the incoming PLS, thus removing the
surfactants providing a “clean” PLS solution after treatment.
Activated Carbon Testwork was performed at the bench scale and yielded the following
results as outlined in Figure 11. For a full outline of the testwork, please see Appendix
XX.
600
3°PLS TOC (ppm) 500
400
300
200
100
0
0 10 30 50 70
Activated Carbon (g/L)
Figure 11 Robinson Activated Carbon Testwork to Reduce TOC Levels in PLS (5 min RT)
The greatest benefit, in terms of TOC reduction, was realized at 50 g/L activated
carbon however the TOC levels did reamin stil fairly high (414 ppm). Further tests were
completed to the effect of activated carbon treatment on disengagement rates.
Disengagement rates were not improved at all by activated carbon treatment and thick
emulsion were still present five minutes after the completion of mixing for a bench DR
test. Overall, the carbon treatment did manage to slightly reduce the TOC levels, but
was not successful at treating the more contaminated solution.
There was a brief attempt by operations to perform activated carbon treatment of the
PLS in the demo plant, although it resulted in complete failure. Carbon was added to a
tank which was to be fed by contaminated solution. The treated solution coming from
the treatment tank overflow was then to be cartridge filtered and sent to a third and final
tank for storage. TOC were to be taken from the treatment tank overflow, and after the
cartridge filters, every 15 minutes to monitor for improvement. The TOC values never
seemed to decrease dramatically and the cartridge filters had an extremely difficult time
removing the carbon fines from the “treated” solution. The end result was a large
volume of further contaminated PLS (with carbon fines) and several dozen used
cartridge filters. The activated carbon treatment method for the PLS was quickly
abandoned.
Hydrogen Peroxide Testwork and Treatment

After the failures involved with both the autoclave treatment and activated carbon
treatment methods to reduce TOCs (and therefore the amount of deleterious
surfactants) entering the KPT, it was decided to attempt the addition of hydrogen
peroxide to the PLS prior to it entering the KPT. Testwork was immediately conducted in
early February as the TOC levels in the plant inventory were still high after operations at
the beginning of December 2007 (Figure 7).
A test performed was to determine the effectiveness of different volumetric

concentrations of H2O2 in terms of eliminating any organic content in the aqueous
solution (3°PLS). This was undertaken by adding specified amounts of H2O2 and
allowing the solution to mix for five minutes. A TOC analysis was then taken. The
results of this test are presented in Figure 12.
TOC Levels vs. H2O2 Concentration
1200
1000
TOC Levels (ppm)
800
600
400
200
Graph taken from Testwork
0 Memo Produced in February
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 2008.
H2O2 Concentration (% v/v)
Figure 12 Hydrogen Peroxide (50%) Addition and Reduction of PLS TOC Values
The results showed a clear decrease in TOC levels with an increase in H2O2
concentration, even at concentrations as low as 2.5 – 5.0% (at 50% reagent
concentration). However, since disengagement rates could not always be directly
correlated to TOC levels a third test was completed using the same concentrations as
the second test. For testwork purposes, after the TOC sample was taken, 250ml of the
treated solution was mixed with Conosol 170ES (kerosene) for 3 minutes then allowed
to disengage. The results of this test are presented in Figure 13.
Disengagement Rates vs. H2O2 Concentration
Disengagement Rate (m3/m2/hr)

7
6
5
4
2
1 Graph taken from Testwork
Memo Produced in February
0 2008.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
H2O2 Concentration (% v/v)
Figure 13 Effect of Hydrogen Peroxide (50%) Addition on PLS/Kerosene DRs
The data presented in provides a clear indication that disengagement rates were
improved immensely. While the best results occurred overall at 10% v/v H 2O2 (50%
concentration), this amount was too impractical to add to the circuit. It was therefore
decided to use 2.5% v/v of 50% H2O2 when deemed necessary to whatever PLS
volume was currently in Tank 5 on a need-to-add basis based on emulsion problems in
the KPT. These problems would coincide with poor DR test results (performed several
times per shift by operations staff).
Hydrogen peroxide was added six times between the resuming of Robinson operations
in February 2008 until the end of the Robinson Campaign in May 2008. For the majority
of the time, most of the emulsions formed in the KPT could be controlled by bleeding,
replacing, and treating increased amounts of kerosene from the KPT as discussed in
the Kerosene Clay Treatment section. Sometimes emulsions could even by controlled
by simply taking steps to limit the amount of air being impelled into the KPT mixer.
Figure 14 shows when peroxide was added along with the associated PLS TOC values,
with the amount added always being relative to the volume of PLS in the Pre-KPT PLS
Tank. The red Xs indicate the times when hydrogen peroxide was added, while the
different colours represent the dates of different surfactants used as sulphur dispersants
in PO. There are only five black lines as peroxide was added on both February 19 th and
20th, 2008. Figure 15 marks the different date surfactants in PO were used/changed,
this is also indicated by the differnet colours in Figure 14.
1600
1400
1200
3°PLS TOC (ppm)
1000
800
600
400
200
0
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
2200
2300
2400
2500
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2100
PLS Processed (m3)
Figure 14 Hydrogen Peroxide Addition and PO Surfactants Used Robinson 2007/2008
Surfactant History
TEMBEC BorrePAL Liquid
BorrePAL Liquid Switched from Powder 12% solids
50% solids BorrePAL liquid to
the Georgia Pacific
BorrePAL powder
powdered lig
Dec. 5 Dec. 10 Mar. 14 Apr. 21
Earlier Feb. 29 Apr. 7 Apr. 15 Apr. 25 Apr. 28

in 2007
Changed to
BorrePAL Liquid NorLig 11DA
BorrePAL powder
12% solids
BorrePAL Liquid
25% solids
Figure 15 Pressure Oxidation Surfactant History
The first three times the hydrogen peroxide was added came shortly after the plant
start-up in 2008. Similar to what was seen in November and late December 2007, the
TOC values began to rise and emulsions began to form across the KPT. As the TOC
values were high toward the end of December 2007, it is most likely the case that they
remained high during the shutdown and were responsible for the problems seen in mid
February 2008. If one were to associate the problems with a specific surfactant used in
Pressure Oxidation, it would seem that Borrepal liquid, dilute or otherwise, definitely
seemed to pose some difficulty for the KPT circuit. It should also be noted that several
additions were necessary as the hydrogen peroxide was found in the plant and might
have been fairly old; consequently, it’s ability to oxidize and organic components in the
PLS might have been reduced.
PO had switched to BorrePal powder by March, and after the additions of H 2O2 in
February, the KPT seemed to be operating well and emulsion-free. By late mid-to-late
March, there was clear evidence of an emulsion starting to form. At this time, according
to Figure 9, there was a slight jump in the TOC values, however they were not as high
as when problems had been experienced previously. Nevertheless, hydrogen peroxide
was added to the PLS in the Pre-KPT PLS Tank on March 22nd and 27th, and the
emulsion quickly dissipated on both occasions. The problem was eventually attributed
to an old organic film-like residue which was sitting along the walls of the Pre-KPT PLS
Tank. The tank had operated at a low volume for quite some time prior to this event
and had quickly risen for the purposes of solutions storage; it is at this point that the
emulsion event occurred. Hydrogen peroxide was finally added to the PLS on April 29th,
2008. There was no clear indication of an oncoming emulsion based on TOC values,
the emulsion just seemed to appear. The surfactant being used in PO at the time as
Norlig DA, a surfactant which was only being used as the plant was waiting on a
delivery of OPD. Shortly before this brief period, the plant had been forced to turn back
to old, left-over BorrePal Liquid which had been known to cause problems in the past.
Once again, the appropriate addition of hydrogen peroxide (35%) was made, and the
emulsion seemed to quickly clear up. In early May 2008, the KPT began to see 3°PLS
which had been produced under OPD conditions in PO. There were no emulsions, and
therefore no need to add hydrogen peroxide, during the entire month of May (or until the
end of the Robinson Campaign) and TOC values were much lower as well.
Hydrogen peroxide ultimately served as the best solution for treating the PLS when
severe emulsions were being experienced across the KPT.
KPT Emulsion Control Chart Analysis

Further analysis was undertaken to look more closely at the root causes of the KPT
emulsions events which continued to take place during the Robinson campaign in the
2008 calendar year, after hyrdrogen peroxide addition was determined to be a suitable
solution to the problem.
Control charts were constructed using the data collected from DR Times, TOC values
and 3°KPT operating temperatures in an effort to helpo explain why emulsion events
continued to happen between February and May 2008 prior to the use of OPD in PO.
200
KPT Emulsion Formation

February 19/20 2008

150 March 22 2008
Ops DR Times (s)
125.60
108.75
100
91.90
April 28 2008
75.05
58.20
50
41.35
24.50
0
FEB 13 MAY 29
1
10
13
16
19
22
25
28
31
34
37
40
43
46
49
52
55
58
61
64
67
70
73
76
79
82
85
88
91
94
97
100
103
106
109
112
115
118
121
2008 2008
Date
Value UCL Avg+2s Avg+1s Center Line Avg-1s Avg-2s Lcl
Figure 16 KPT Phase Separation - 3°PLS/Kersoene DR Times
Figure 16 Shows DR times taken in the circuit during operations from February to June
2008. DR times were an extremely important KIV for the KPT Phase separation KIV as
increasing DR times would often coincide with emulsion formation across the KPT.
When looking at the upper and lower control limits, it would appear that the DR times in
the circuit were pretty much under control for this portion of the campaign. A noticeable
downward trend is present, most of which had to do either with the introduction of EAL
under the Modified Process 4 Operations and most likely later due to the addition of
OPD as the sulphur dispersing surfactant in Pressure Oxidation. Also noticeable are
three of the instances where an emulsion formed in the KPT as evidenced by the high
DR times, and, in the cases of March 22nd and April 28th, a very sharp rise in DR times
as compared to those days previous.
969
869
KPT Emulsion Formation EAL Operations -

February 19/20 2008 + "Modified Process 4"
769 Peroxide Addition Begins
669
April 28 2008 + Peroxide
TOC (ppm)
Addition
569 559.34
534.29
509.23
484.18
469 459.13
434.08
409.03
369
OPD PLS hits 3°KPT -

269 May 1 2008
169
69
2/14/2008
2/16/2008
2/18/2008
2/20/2008
2/22/2008
2/24/2008
2/26/2008
2/28/2008
3/1/2008
3/3/2008
3/5/2008
3/7/2008
3/9/2008
3/11/2008
3/13/2008
3/15/2008
3/17/2008
3/19/2008
3/21/2008
3/23/2008
3/25/2008
3/27/2008
3/29/2008
3/31/2008
4/2/2008
4/4/2008
4/6/2008
4/8/2008
4/10/2008
4/12/2008
4/14/2008
4/16/2008
4/18/2008
4/20/2008
4/22/2008
4/24/2008
4/26/2008
4/28/2008
4/30/2008
5/2/2008
5/4/2008
5/6/2008
5/8/2008
5/10/2008
5/12/2008
5/14/2008
5/16/2008
5/18/2008
5/20/2008
5/22/2008
5/24/2008
5/26/2008
5/28/2008
Date
Figure 17 KPT Phase Separation - 3°PLS TOC Values
Figure 17 presents the 3°PLS TOC value data, similar to Figure 9, although control
limits have been added to indicate that in terms of the TOC values in the PLS, the
process was not under control whatsoever. Worth highlighting are two of the instances
in which TOC values were already high, or quickly rose, leading to emulsion formation
in the KPT. The impact of hydrogen peroxide addition, as discussed previously, can
also be observed as the TOC values quickly plummet in the downward direction upon
the addition of the reagent. Although well beyond the control limits set by the process,
the lower TOC values at the end of the campaign were actually a benefit. No emulsion
formation occurred during this time, a phenomenon which can most likely be explained
by the addition of OPD to PO as well as the introduction of the EAL circuit under the
Modified Process 4 Operations.
42
40.21
40
38.85
37.49 38
36.13
3° KPT Temp (°C)

36
34.76
34
33.40
32.04
32
30

February 19/20 2008
28
26
2
11
14
17
20
23
26
29
32
35
38
41
44
47
50
53
56
59
62
65
68
71
74
77
80
83
86
89
92
95
98
101
104
107
110
113
116
119
122
125
128
131
134
137
140
143
146
FEB 13 JUNE 1
2008 2008
Date
Figure 18 KPT Phase Separation - 3° KPT Operating Temperature
3°KPT Operating temperature (temperature in the mixer/settler) was originally thought

of as one of the main factors in poor disengagement across the settler. It appears that
although it helped to contribute to some of the issues faced in early February regarding
emulsion formation in the KPT, the operating temperature remained within the process
control limits for the remainder to the campaign. There are several exceptions, the
sharp drops in May indicate extended periods of plant shutdown under a new schedule
without weekends. The drop in early March can only be explained by the fact that the
heat exchanger off of the Pre-KPT PLS Tank had malfunctioned and was no longer
providing the necessary temperature to the 3°PLS entering the KPT. The heat
exchanger was quickly repaired and the KPT was able to operate through this period
with only minor emulsion formation observed. This led to the conclusion that although
the operating temperature was important, it could not have been the major cause of
poor disengagement in the KPT, acting more as a mitigating factor under the proper
circumstances.
1,307
1,126.83
899.33
807
3°PLS Solids (ppm)
671.84
444.34
307
216.85
-10.65
-193
-238.15
-693
2/13/2008
2/15/2008
2/17/2008
2/19/2008
2/21/2008
2/23/2008
2/25/2008
2/27/2008
2/29/2008
3/2/2008
3/4/2008
3/6/2008
3/8/2008
3/10/2008
3/12/2008
3/14/2008
3/16/2008
3/18/2008
3/20/2008
3/22/2008
3/24/2008
3/26/2008
3/28/2008
3/30/2008
4/1/2008
4/3/2008
4/5/2008
4/7/2008
4/9/2008
4/11/2008
4/13/2008
4/15/2008
4/17/2008
4/19/2008
4/21/2008
4/23/2008
4/25/2008
4/27/2008
4/29/2008
5/1/2008
5/3/2008
5/5/2008
5/7/2008
5/9/2008
5/11/2008
5/13/2008
5/15/2008
5/17/2008
5/19/2008
5/21/2008
Date
Figure 19 KPT Phase Separation KIV - 3°PLS ppm Solids
While there was a clear indication of higher ppm solids in the 3°PLS leading to
increased TOCs and therefore poor phase disengagement in the KPT, the data
displayed in Figure 19 shows that the correlation between these three phenomena did
not quite hold up as well in the latter portion of the Robinson Campaign. The ppm
solids received in the 3°PLS, while appearing to be relatively random, actually stayed
within the control limits as provided by the process for the majority of operations
between February 2008 and June 2008. The data presented in Figure 19 shows that
there were indeed some sharp rises in ppm solids values coming with the 3°PLS,
however they did not necessarily translate to higher TOC values and/or poor phase
disengagement. These events served as a warning to both CCD and SX operators that
there were perhaps settling issues across the CCD circuit leading to increased crud
causing solids in the 3° PLS.
Solvent Extraction (SX) Results
Following the 3°KPT, the 3°PLS was transferred to the 3°PLS tank and subsequently to
the 3° Solvent Extraction circuit for copper removal. The 3°PLS was reacted with a
combination of stripped organic (SO) and partially loaded organic (pLO – from 4°SX), to
produce a fully loaded organic stream as well a copper-depleted raffinate. Beyond the
two (in series) extraction stages, the now loaded organic would proceed through an LO
coalescer, a wash stage, and a Wash Loaded Organic (WLO) coalescer prior to the
strip stages in an effort to minimize aqueous entrainments and impurity transfer (to
Electrowinning).
Organic Copper Loading

The data presented in this section summarizes the SX circuit organic copper loading
and loading efficiency based on aqueous and organic assay data.
The SX extraction circuits are arranged to allow a fully loaded organic to feed the
stripping circuit. Higher loading occurs when there is a high copper driving force (PLS,
raffinate or both) pushing the copper onto the organic. The SX extraction circuits are
arranged to allow a fully loaded organic feeding the stripping circuit. Higher loading
results in more efficient use of the organic stream. Organic loading efficiency was
calculated as follows:
Organic [ Actual Load Cu (g/L) – Actual Strip Cu (g/L) ]

=
Loading ] -----------------------------------------------------
Efficiency [ Max Load Cu (g/L) – Max Strip Cu (g/L) ]
Organic loading efficiency is always less than 100% as an equilibrium forms between
the aqueous and organic copper levels within any extraction stage. Copper loading and
organic loading efficiency results are shown inError! Reference source not found..
Table 10 Copper Loading and SX Organic Loading Efficiency
Max Actual Organic Loading

Load/Strip Load/Strip Efficiency
g/L Cu g/L Cu %
3° SX 17.6 77 %
4° SX 20.1 12.8 41 %
Combined LO (3° & 4°) 17.5 76 %
Strip 6.8 7.4 -
The circuit organic loaded to 87.5% of the maximum possible load throughout the entire
Robinson campaign. According to the RedLine bulletin for LIX 973N the load capacity is
0.52-0.56 g/L Cu / % LIX. CESL is using 0.52g/L Cu / % LIX. Since the target percent
LIX in the circuit is 40%, the circuit organic should load to 20.8g/L Cu. This could
suggest that the organic content was slightly lowever than 40%, however it was never
became dilute enough to warrant organic addition to the circuit. Stripping efficiencies
were also low, results which are similar to previous campaigns. The stripping efficiency
affects the overall organic loading efficiency (max strip of 6.8 g/L Cu vs. actual strip of
7.4 g/L Cu).
Chloride Transfer to Electrowinning

Chloride ion concentration in the electrolyte should be kept around or below 30 ppm to
promote the desired copper crystal microstructure on the cathodes in Electrowinning.
Higher concentrations of chloride in the electrolyte can corrode and cause pitting on the
surface of the stainless steel cathodes blanks (before a copper layer has formed). This
causes the forming copper layer to stick to the blanks and resist removal; consequently,
cathode harvesting and stripping can become a much more difficult and possibly
dangerous endeavour. Because of these reasons, specific efforts are made to limit the
amount of chlorides transferred over from SX to EW.
Chlorides are physically and not chemically (ie. loaded), transferred to EW. The
transfer mechanism is via aqueous entrainments in the loaded organic that make their
way through extraction and wash to end up in the electrolyte used for the strip circuit.
The wash stage is included and employed in the CESL SX plant in an effort to reduce
chlorides which can be physically transferred to EW by means of dilution. Small
volumes of acidified wash water (~40 g/L FA) combine with a large aqueous recycle
wash to wash the loaded organic phase at O:A ratios of anywhere from 80:1 to 120:1.
The wash circuit combined with two aqueous coalescers, one prior to the LO tank, and
one directly following the wash circuit prior to strip, are meant to serve as means to help
prevent the transfer of chlorides and possibly other deleterious impurities.
Cl- Tenors in PE From SX

90.0
80.0
70.0
60.0
50.0
Cl- (ppm)
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
PE Processed (m3)
Figure 20 Robinson Campaign Chloride Tenors in PE from SX
During the Robinson campaign, there was a major issue with chloride transfer to EW as
the plant increased its amount of continuous runtime through February, March, and April
2008. Figure 20 shows chloride levels in the PE leaving SX for the entire campaign
while Figure 21 focuses more on the data collected during the latter stages of the
campaign during periods in increased continuous runtime.
Cl- Tenors in PE From SX
90.0
80.0
70.0
60.0
Cl- (ppm) 50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
Increasing Cl- Tenors in PE from SX
10.0
0.0
07-Feb-08 27-Feb-08 18-Mar-08 07-Apr-08 27-Apr-08 17-May-08 06-Jun-08
Date
-
Figure 21 Cl Tenors during Robinson Campaign Operations 2008
In March 2008, Cu tenors in the 3°PLS began to increase and the Demo plant was
running with increasing and consecutive runtime; as a result, flowrates across SX began
to increase, most notably the aqueous wash feed to the wash circuit. There had been
no pump installed off of the wash feed tank and the feed relied completely on the wash
cell mixer-impeller to draw the necessary flowrate in order to meet an O:A ratio of 100:1.
With the mixer-impeller set at its original operating frequency (or rpm), it was unable to
draw the necessary flowrate in order to meet the desired O:A. In mid March, the mixer-
impellor motor was turned up to its maximum frequency of 60 Hz. The change wasn’t
recorded and therefore went unnoticed at the time. Cl- tenors began to increase and
several measures were taken to attempt to control the rising Cl- levels being transferred
to EW. While many of these “solutions,” discussed below, had minor and positive
effects, they were all ultimately ineffective in rectifying the issue.
Increased Electrolyte Bleed/Decrease Wash O:A ratio

Based on data and knowledge obtained from previous campaigns, it was thought that
the wash product Cl- tenors were directly related to the electrolyte Cl- tenors, meaning
that if there was a decrease in the former, the latter would also decrease. In the past,
this had been accomplished by increasing the fresh wash flowrate into the wash cell.
Unknown at the time, this further compounded the problem as the wash cell mixer-
impeller now need to be running at an increased rpm in order to draw the necessary
wash feed flowrate.
Rather than having a pump installed to provide for the increase wash feed flowrate, the
motor was rigged to go beyond its maximum frequency in order to meet the increased
pumping requirements. The chloride tenors in EW continued to rise while the chloride
tenors in the wash product began to decrease. It appeared that there indeed was no
relationship between the two solution tenors as can be seen in Figure 22, although they
are indeed normally related. The re was an overriding situation in this case, the
increased impellor speed and over-mixing in the wash mixer which acted to prevent a
clear reationship during this period of time.
Wash Product and Pe Cl- Tenors
1200 80.0
70.0
1000
60.0
Wash Product Cl- (ppm)
800
PE to SX Cl- (ppm)
50.0
600 40.0
30.0
400
20.0
200
10.0
0 0.0
3-Mar-08 8-Mar-08 13-Mar-08 18-Mar-08 23-Mar-08 28-Mar-08 2-Apr-08 7-Apr-08 12-Apr-08
Date Aqueous Wash Product PE to SX
Figure 22 Aqueous Wash Product and PE Chloride Tenors
Coalescer Cleaning
The coalescers were then examined to determine if they were performing well enough
to be reducing aqueous entrainments both before and after the wash circuit. The
reasoning was that perhaps the coalescers were dirty/filled with crud solids etc. that the
aqueous was unable to coalesce on the media and thus was not being separated from
the loaded organic streams coming out of extraction through LO coalescer, into the
wash circuit, and to the strip circuit through the WLO coalescer. Both coalescers were
drained and their media was inspected. While the WLO coalescer was relatively clean,
the LO coalescing media was completely filled with gypsum-like crud solids which had
made its way through the extraction cells E5 and E6. The media was cleaned and
replaced.
Air Entrainments in Extraction

It was thought that possibly the issue could be traced back to extraction cells. Any
stable emulsions being formed in E5 and E6 could possibly lead to higher-than-normal
aqueous entrainments which would be subsequently overwhelm the two coalescers as
well as the wash circuit. Significant amounts of air were being pulled into E6 from the
4°SX circuit pLO launder leading to possible air entrainments and ultimately poorer
disengagement times across extraction. The air entrainment problem fixed by throttling
the outlet organic valve from 4°SX however it did not solve the Cl- transfer problem.
Extraction Crud Floating and Removal

Extraction was once again examined to see if there were any other factors possibly
contributing to poor disengagement rates and consequently higher aqueous
entrainments coming from extraction. Both extraction cells were flooded with PLS in
order to bring the aqueous-organic interface to the surface. The belief was the perhaps
crud layers at the interface of both extraction cells were impeding the disengagement of
the two solutions across the settler. Although approximately 150 L of dense crud was
removed as a result of these actions, the chloride tenors’ rate of increase from the
electrolyte leaving SX slowed slightly but still continued its upward trend.
Wash Cell Mixer Impeller and Wash Feed Pump

With chloride tenors still on the rise, the wash mixer-impeller was revisited and
reexamined. It was this point that it was discovered that the wash mixer-impeller had
been turned up around mid-March when the problem first began. The mixer-impeller
had been over-mixing and “whipping” up the emulsion too vigorously leading to high
entrainment values leaving the wash stage. It was then realized that the mixer-impeller
mixing speed had been increased even further since that initial increase. Without
further delay, a March Pump 3 Series pump was installed on the outlet of the Wash
Feed Tank in order to provide a constant flow to the mixer while keeping the mixing
speed down / motor frequency down. The circuit continued to run under these
conditions along with the maintained 80:1 Wash O:A ratio and the 0.8% overall bleed in
EW. There was an immediate improvement was chloride tenors from SX began to
decrease more rapidly then their recent increase as can be observed in Figure 21.
The O:A ratio in Wash returned to 100:1 and the bleed rate in SX was returned to 0.6 %
and eventually 0.5 %. As indicated in Figure 2, the chloride tenors never quite reached
target by the end of the campaign.
No problems were ever experienced in EW in regards to corroded cathodes leading to

sticking copper as the operators remained diligent in buffing the cathodes after each cell
harvest. Unfortunately, this is an unrealistic undertaking at a commercial scale level
and therefore it was important to eventually solve the problem despite the overall
minimal impact it had on Robinson Demo EW operations.
Chloride Balance – SX/EW

An attempt was made to perform a chloride blance around the SX (and EW) circuit(s) in
order to understand the full severity of the consequences involved with the increase
wash mixer mixing speed during the months of March and April 2008. Before the
blance was performed, however, quick calculations were made to examine what kind of
extra entrainments were occurring in from the wash cell through to the strip cell and
eventually through to EW during this period of time. The delta Cl- used was 54 ppm (75
ppm – 21 ppm, see Figure 20) and this value was combined with the total inventory
giving a total vlaue of 1652 g of Cl- gained (extra) during this time. From there, using
the total amount of WLO processed (2465 m3) as well as the overall wash product Cl-
tenor (1100 ppm), it was calculated that ~1500 L of extra wash product must have been
entrained in the WLO during this time, eventually making its way to EW. This resulted
in ~610 ppm aqueous entrainments to account for the delta 54 ppm Cl- during
March/April 2008. Unfortunately this number only represents the extra amount of
entrainments which occurred during this time and is not an overall entrainment value.
This value can also not be compared to the total entrainment values collected during
this period of time (see Figure 32) as it is not representative of total entrainment values
but rather the amount of extra aqueous entrainments needed for the rise in EW chloride
tenors.
It is extremely difficult to manage a chloride balance in order to determine specific

aqueous entrainment values (as mentioned above) due to the fact that chloride
evolution is never accounted for and is itself extremely difficult to measure. In order to
perform a chloride balance around the circuit(s) a chloride evolution rate (in mg/min)
must be assumed. For the purposes of the balance performed, chloride evolution was
assumed to be zero. Figure 23 represents the model used for the Cl- balance
performed, and accounts for all the “ins” and “outs” of the circuits with the exeception of
chloride evolution from EW.
Figure 23 Robinson Cu SX/EW Model for Cl- Mass Balance
Three periods of time were examined when looking at calculating the aqueous
entrainments in various aqeous streams. All three periods of time were during the 2008
portion of the Robinson campaign. The tables (11-13) below look closely at these three
periods of time; before the increase in EW cholorides, during the increase in EW
chlorides, and finally after the choloride issue was resolved. There were also three
different SE Bleed rates from EW during these three periods of time.
Table 11 Robinson Chloride Mass Balance Feb 13 - Feb 29 2007

Before (Feb 13 - Feb 29) - SE Bleed Rate 0.5%
Stream
Stream Name Flow Ent Cl
#
L/min mg/L mg/L
1 3°PLS 16.2 9712
2 3°Raff 16.2 9379
3 SO to Extract 34.3 0
3a [SE from Strip] 0.034 1000 26.2
5 LO From Extract 34.3 0
5a [PLS] 0.041 1200 9712
6 Washed Organic 34.3 0
6a [Wash Product] 0.0044 127 1230
7 SE to Strip 37.6 28.5
8 PE from Strip 37.6 26.2
9 SE Bleed 0.188 28.5
9a SE Bleed to Raff 0.141 28.5
9b SE Bleed to Wash 0.047 28.5
10 Wash Water 0.278 440
11 Wash Feed 0.325 56
12 Wash Product 0.325 1230
Table 12 Robinson Chloride Mass Balance Mar 1 - Apr 17 2007

During (Mar 1 - Apr 17) - SE Bleed Rate 0.8%
Stream
#
L/min mg/L mg/L
1 3°PLS 15.9 10271
2 3°Raff 15.9 10311
3 SO to Extract 42.3 0
3a [SE from Strip] 0.042 1000 48.9
5 LO From Extract 42.3 0
5a [PLS] 0.040 934 10271
6 Washed Organic 42.3 0
6a [Wash Product] 0.017 400 1015
7 SE to Strip 43.9 48.9
9 SE Bleed 0.351 48.9
10 Wash Water 0.312 440
11 Wash Feed 0.4 24
Table 13 Robinson Chloride Mass Balance Apr 18 - May 29 2007
After (Apr 18 - May 29) - SE Bleed Rate 0.6%
Stream
#
L/min mg/L mg/L
1 3°PLS 16.8 10097
2 3°Raff 16.8 9747
3 SO to Extract 46 0
3a [SE from Strip] 0.046 1000 35.8
5 LO From Extract 46 0
5a [PLS] 0.037 814 10097
6 Washed Organic 46 0
6a [Wash Product] 0.011 242 756
7 SE to Strip 47.1 35.8
9 SE Bleed 0.236 35.8
10 Wash Water 0.441 440
11 Wash Feed 0.5 19
The calculations and balances yielded the main difference which was expected:
aqueous entrainment values in the WLO leaving the wash stage were higher during the
period of time during which chloride tenors increased in EW. Although the relative
difference is still small, it should be noted that there was a significantly increased bleed
% during this period of time making any increased entrainments during this time that
much more significant. Higher entrainments were also experienced during this time
across the wash cell even as PLS aqueous entrainments in the LO coming from
extraction had decreased. Measured values during this period of time are futher
discussed in the Aqueous Entrainments section of this report as well as Figure 32. The
entrainment values and their associated flowrates, most notably in the washed organic,
calculated in Tables 11, 12 and 13 above are all relative and are based on several
assumptions. The 1000 ppm value of SE in the SO value was not calculated; however,
this value was made equal for the three time periods in order to compare them
relatively. Also, the values are above are based on the assumption of no (0 mg/min)
chloride evolution from EW.
A final look was taken at the relationship between the chloride in the incoming 3°PLS
feed to SX to determine whether or not there was a relationship between what was
coming into SX and what was exiting the circuit. This relationship is examined in Figure
24.
14000 120.0
12000
100.0
10000
80.0
Electrolyte Cl (mg/L)
3°PLS Cl (mg/L)
8000
60.0
6000
40.0
4000
20.0
2000
0 0.0
02-Feb-08 22-Feb-0813-Mar-0802-Apr-08 22-Apr-0812-May-0801-Jun-08 21-Jun-08
Date PLS Electrolyte
Figure 24 3°PLS and Electrolyte Cl- Tenors Feb-Jun 2008
Both the PLS and the Electrolyte chloride tenors seem to trend together, especially
between March and May 2008. A 10-20% increase in the PLS tenors were matched by
an almost 100% increase in the electrolyte tenors; this phenomenon could have been
easily magnified by the over mixing occurring in the wash cell mixer. When plotted
against one another, there seems to be no indication of a direct relationship.
Iron Transfer to Electrowinning

While chloride can be transferred to Electrowinning only by physical means, iron has the
ability to transfer over to the electrolyte by both physical and chemical means. The
physical transfer is similar to that of chloride as the iron is carried over in organic
aqueous entrainments to the strip circuit. Chemical transfer occurs as a result of iron
loading on the extractant followed by its stripping from the organic by the electrolyte. It
should be noted that iron was not affected by the mixing issues faced in the wash cell
causing the chlorided to increase; because iron transfers over both physically and
chemically the relationship between iron and choloride impurities in the electrolyte
cannot be the same.
The extractant used during the Robinson campaign has a known high Cu:Fe selectivity.
Because of this, and with the use of the wash circuit in SX, iron transfer to the
electrolyte, and therefore to the cathodes, was minimal.
Table 14 Robinson Campaign SX Average Iron Loading (Feb – Jun 2008)
Organic Iron Assay

Circuit
(mg/L)
4° pLO 9.3
Combined LO 2.9
Washed Organic 1.7
Stripped Organic 0.7
Table 14 shows the average iron loading the SX organic for the entire campaign. As is
typically seen, iron was able to load higher in 4°SX than the 3° circuit because the
organic exiting the circuit was only partially loaded. The bulk of the iron loaded onto the
pLO was scrubbed off in the 3° circuit (2.9 ppm) and it was further reduced to 1.7 ppm
while passing through the wash stage. Transfer of iron to electrowinning was extremely
low, as the stripped organic stream was only 1 ppm lower the washed organic stream,
leading to a minute transfer of iron to the electrolyte of the same amount.
Strip Circuit Performance

The purpose of the strip circuit is to transfer copper from the loaded organic phase into
a pure electrolyte for recovery by Electrowinning. A stripped organic phase with a low
level of copper is then returned back to the extraction stages for further copper loading.
The strip point is defined as the copper concentration remaining on the stripped organic
following both stripping stages and heading back to extraction. When a stripped organic
returns back to extraction with too high a strip point, problems can arise due to the fact
that the effective copper loading “space” has been reduced. Consequences of this
phenomenon include above target 3° Raffinate copper concentrations or above target
organic flowrate requirements through all 3°SX circuits. Problems can arise when the
strip point is too low as well (eg. low 3° Raff and lower organic flow rates).
Figure 25 shows the organic strip point values over the course of the entire campaign
including the commissioning period between August and October 2007.
Robinson SX Organic Strip Point
12.00
11.00
10.00
9.00
Cu (g/L)
8.00
7.00
6.00
5.00
4.00
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
PE Processed (m3)
Figure 25 Robinson SX Organic Strip Point
The average strip point for the Robinson campaign was 7.4 g/L Cu. Maximum values
seem to occur mostly during shut down and startup periods of operation while the plant
works towards achieving more of a steady state. The spike in mid April (15, 16, and 17)
as indicated in Figure 25 was the result of a large amount of water addition in to the
electrolyte inventory leading to lower free acid levels in the stripped electrolyte;
consequently, the loaded organic was not stripped as well. Free acid levels in the
electrolyte inventory were leading cause of the variability in strip points as EW
frequently ran into problems involving inventory maintenance and acid addition.
Kerosene & Organic Health

Organic health and its associated measurements are the keys to the efficient operation
of the entire Solvent Extraction circuit. The entire organic extractant (plus diluent)
inventory (~9500 L) was clay treated at the beginning of the Robinson campaign. The
organic extractant used in the demo plant SX circuit was a mixture of 40% v/v LIX
973N® extractant with 60% v/v kerosene as a diluent.
The kerosene diluent used for the Robinson campaign was a mixture of three (and
possibly more) diluents used during previous demo plant campaigns. The three diluents
that can verified are Vansol 160, Conosol C-200 and Conosol 170ES. Although it would
have been beneficial to possibly test a diluent which might eventually be used a
commercial scale, there was more value in being able to use a healthy and large
organic inventory left over from previous campaigns.
Surface and Interfacial Tensions

One of the measurements of organic health is Surface Tension (ST) along with
associated Interfacial Tension (IFT) measurements. Surface tension is a measure of
the energy required to break a liquid surface. Trends in surface tension can provide
insight into the effect of additives and surfactants on phase disengagements. Interfacial
tension is a measurement of the surface energy between two immiscible liquid phases.
For example, if an IFT value is high, it indicates that the two phases being studied are
dissimilar and the driving force to separate these two phases is strong. A reduction in
the IFT is indicative of deleterious contaminants (ie. surfactants) and phase
separation/disengagement is slower or remains incomplete.
A standard is measured before each set of surface and interfacial tension

measurements are completed. The standard used for surface tension measurements
during the Robinson campaign was distilled water which has a target surface tension of
72.0 mN/m. The standard used for interfacial tension measurements required two
phases, and therefore hexane and water were used with a target interfacial tension of
46.0 mN/m.
Surface tensions were collected during the first half of the campaign; however this
testwork was ceased in February 2008 due to several factors. It was decided that
surface tension measurements weren’t really providing any significant information. This
reason, along with the fact that Bench and Ops Testwork were overworked, lead to the
some of the “less necessary” testwork being cut out on a weekly basis. With an overall
objective to keep the Robinson demo copper plant running for the purpose of producing
residue, the only testwork completed were tests that provided information necessary to
keep the plant running or to provide warning signs of difficulties to come. Table 15
shows the surface tension results obtained up until the end of February 2008.
Table 15 Average Surface Tension Values (Sept 07-Feb 08)
Distilled 3° PLS Pre 3° PLS
mN/m 4° PLS SE SO LO
Water KPT Post KPT
Target
72.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 25.0 25.0
Benchmark
Sept 07 –
72.1 62.7 61.1 58.8 72.1 26.4 26.6
Feb 08
The target benchmark values are based on previous pilot and demo plant operations
and testwork. Both the 3°SX and 4°SX PLS streams contained a relatively high
average of ppm solids entering both circuits. Any solids present in the either PLS
stream will decrease the energy require to break the surface, resulting in a lower
surface tension measurement.
Interfacial tension measurements were taken throughout the entire duration of the
Robinson campaign. While the surface tension values seemed to remain somewhat
steady, even during problematic stretches of run time, interfacial tensions seemed to
fluctuate more and were more closely related to disengagement rates across the KPT
(discussed later). Table 16 presents the interfacial tension results obtained during the
entire run of the Robinson campaign, until late May 2008. Once again, the target
benchmark values are based on previous testwork and operational experience.
Table 16 Robinson Average Interfacial Tension Values (Feb – Jun 2008)
Distilled 4° Wash
Aqueous 3° PLS 3° PLS SE
Water PLS Feed
Organic Hexane Kerosene SO SO LO WO
Target 46.0 25.0 17.5 17.5 17.5 17.5

Robinson 46.4 31.0 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.0
The data in Table 16 shows that the IFT values for the 3° and 4° SX aqueous/organic
streams as well as the 3°KPT streams (3°PLS & Kerosene) were all above target during
the optimal operating period between February and June 2008. Lower IFT values can
be indicative of reduced organic health, and some of these lower values can be
observed in Figure 26, all of which occurred in the 2007 calendar year.
Figure 26 indicates where OPD would have been used as an upstream surfactant.
Unfortunately, the circuit only operated for approximately a month during while running
this sulphur dispersant in Pressure Oxidation and therefore it would be difficult state that
it actually allowed for a marked improvement in interfacial tension results in both the
KPT and SX circuits. Nevertheless, IFT values stayed high during this month during
OPD operations even though hydrogen peroxide addtions had ceased, thus indicating
that there was definitely and improvement effect on this parameter with the addition of
OPD to PO. The red and green lines in Figure 26 represent the target benchmark
values as presented in Table 16.
40
2008 - After first
peroxide addition
35
OPD
30
IFT (mN/m)
25
20
15
10
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
Kerosene/Orgnanic Processed (m3)
3°PLS/Kerosene 3°PLS/SO 4°PLS/SO
Figure 26 Robinson IFT Measurement Results as a Function of Organic/Kerosene Processed
Disengagement Rates
Disengagement rates measure the time required for a given volume of mixed organic
and aqueous to separate into two distinct phases, leaving no emulsion at the interface.
This rate is extremely important to both the KPT and Solvent Extraction circuits has it is
indicative of kerosene and organic health. Poor disengagement rates result in stable
emulsions and possible high aqueous and organic entrainments in organic and aqueous
streams. Poor disengagement can ultimately lead to significant reagent loss, impurity
transfer, and at its worst, can be the potential cause of circuit dangers and safety
issues. If disengagement rates fall below target values, clay treatment, or additional
clay treatment may be require to “rejuvenate” the kerosene or organic. The design
criterion of disengagement rates is one equal to or greater than 7.9 m 3/m2/hr for the
KPT and 3.5 m3/m2/hr for both the 3° and 4° SX circuits. Commonly, if the
disengagement rates obtained are below this target value for three or more consecutive
readings, additional clay treatment may be required (keeping in mind the relationships
to other operating parameters described above).
3°KPT
Figure 27 shows the bench DR tests taken for the 3°KPT during the Robinson campaign
(for Bench DR Procedure, please see Appendix XX). The values started off below
target, yet after the introduction of kerosene bleed/clay treatment, a diluted lignosol
surfactant and, in general, fewer ppm solids the disengagement rates were much
improved.
10.00
9.00
OPD
8.00
Emulsion issues
DR (m3/m2/hr)
7.00
experienced in later
March and April 2008
6.00
5.00
2008 - After first
peroxide addition
4.00
3.00
2.00
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Kerosene Processed (m3)
Figure 27 Bench DRs for Robinson 3°PLS/Kerosene in the 3°KPT
OPD addition during the final month of operations yielded the best DRs for the entire
campaign and no emulsion problems. Prior to OPD there were some emulsion problems
which is evident when observing several of the points the graph which dip below to or
close to the target of 7.9 m3/m2/hr.
It was decided that it was worth investigating the relationship between DRs and IFTs,
especially for the KPT as it seemed to be the circuit giving the demo plant the most
problems during the campaign (at least when compared to the SX circuits). As can be
observed in Figure 28, there is clearly an apparent relationship between disengagement
rates and interfacial tension values.
10.00
9.00
8.00
7.00
y = 1.1004x + 23.305
6.00
R2 = 0.7609
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
25 27 29 31 33 35 37
Interfacial Tension (mN/m)
Figure 28 Robinson 3°KPT Interfacial Tension Values vs. Disengagement Rates
3° and 4° SX
Figure 29 (below) shows the bench DRs obtained during the Robinson Campaign for
the 3° and 4° SX circuits along with their associated stripped organic (SO) stream. 4°
samples were not collected during the last 1.5 months of the campaign. All bench DR
tests were performed at 40°C. For both the 3° and 4° circuits, disengagement rates
consistently were below target for the entire campaign despite several attempts at clay
treatment. The organic inventory was not constantly being bled and clay treated as
originally intended due to the fact both the kerosene and the organic shared the same
treatment circuit. This led to the possibility of cross-contamination and usually it was
seen as more of a priority to keep the kerosene treated over the organic. These lower
DRs did not account for any problems across the extraction cells (or the strip cells for
that matter) during the entire Robinson campaign. Also there likely were not any issues
because the settlers (in both extraction and strip) were large enough to handle the
relatively slow DRs. There were minimal issues encountered with poor disengagement
across any of the operating mixer/settlers in SX.
3.5
DR (m3/m2/hr) 2.5
1.5
0.5
0
0 23 364 705 046 387 728 069 410 751 092 433 774 115 456 797 138
10 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6
3
Organic Processed (m )
3°PLS/SO 4°PLS/SO
Figure 29 Bench DR Tests for the Robinson 3° and 4° SX Circuits
In summary, despite slightly poor disengagement rates indicating a reduced organic

health, no detrimental effects as a result of these rates were observed in the SX circuits
during the entire campaign and the consistent results indicate that there was not really a
worsening of the circuit organic’s health over time.
DRs and Temperature

DRs are very closely related to temperature and flowrates and can also vary based on
mixer O:A ratio, mixer speed and mixer retention time. The 3°PLS and the stripped
electrolyte (SE from EW) was entering the 3°SX circuit at approximately 40°C, however
there was no direct heating of the organic. While it is ideal that disengagement occurs
at 40°C, the indirect heating method used during the Robinson campaign could not
provide this target temperature. The 4°PLS entered the circuit at only ambient
temperatures which could dip to the low to mid 20s°C during the Robinson campaign,
leading to lower DRs.
Clay Treatment Effect on 3° SX DRs and IFTs
Operations testwork was asked to investigate the effect of clay treatment (at different
clay:organic ratios) on bench disengagement rates and interfacial tension values. This
was completed as the high chloride tenors being transferred to EW (see above)
prompted an investigation into the overall health of our SX circuit organic. The organic
phase in solvent extraction can become contaminated overtime with organic substances
(surfactants) which attach to the organic phase and degrade its physical properties. This
in turn can adversely affect the phase separation time (disengagement rates), kinetics,
and the Cu/Fe selectively.
Clay treatment of the organic phase is used to remove the contaminants from the
organic. Clay treatment removes the deleterious compounds that have degraded the
organic’s physical characteristics, returning it to a state close to that of fresh organic.
Circuit SO was clay treated at varied concentrations of 5g, 10g, 20g, and 30g of clay per
liter of organic. In addition, a one liter SO sample was clay treated (5 g/L), filtered and
clay treated again at 5g/L. The graph below (Figure 30) displays the interfacial tension
results of SO/3°PLS before and after clay treatment.
19.8
19.6
Interfacial Tension (mN/m)
19.4
5g/L Clay Treated Twice
19.2
y = 0.041x + 18.347
19 R² = 0.9885
18.8
18.6
18.4
18.2
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Clay (g/L)
Figure 30 Effect of Clay Treatment on Robinson 3°SX Interfacial Tension

Interfacial tension results increased as the concentration of clay treatment increased
from 18.3 mN/m (no clay addition) to 19.6mN/m at 30g/L clay addition. The duplicate 5
g/L clay treated SO sample increased slightly from 18.8mN/m (10g/L clay concentration)
to 19.0mN/m (5g/L, twice).
The organic was contacted with circuit 3°PLS before and after clay treatment with
disengagement rates measured. The graph below (Figure 31) shows the
disengagement rate results of circuit SO with varied concentrations of clay treatment.
7
6.2
6
6 5.8 5.7
5.6
4 3.6
0
0 5 5x2 10 20 30
Clay (g/L)
Figure 31 Effect of Clay Treatment on Robinson 3°SX Disengagement Rate
Disengagement rates increased significantly from 3.5m3/m2/hr (no clay addition) to 6.2
m3/m2/hr (10g/L clay concentration) resulting in a 44% increase. The SO sample with
two 5g/L clay treatments showed a decrease in disengagement rate from 6.2 m3/m2/hr
(10g/L clay concentration) to 5.8 m3/m2/hr (5g/L, twice).
The conclusions from these test results were as follows:

 Clay treatment on demo stripped organic improved the health of the organic by
increasing both the interfacial tension and disengagement rate.
 Interfacial tension results increased as the concentration of clay treatment
increased from 18.3 mN/m (no clay addition) to 19.6mN/m at 30g/L clay addition.
 Disengagement rates increased significantly from 3.5m3/m2/hr (no clay addition)
to 6.2 m3/m2/hr (10g/L clay concentration) resulting in a 44% increase. CESL
already uses a 9g/L clay concentration when performing all circuit organic clay
treatment.
 For the purposes of reducing consumable costs, there could be a case to reduce
clay treatment to 5 g/L
Aqueous Entrainments
Methods of quantifying aqueous entrainment levels in the organic phase were difficult
and tended to be more qualitative than quantitative. Previous campaigns have
determined that aqueous entrainment measurement by centrifugation only accounted
for a portion of the total entrained aqueous. Samples for centrifugation are also subject
to sampling variation and may not be representative if taken during temporary circuit
imbalances. Centrifuge aqueous entrainment values do, however, provide a relative
measurement to other centrifugation values and a general indication of the health of the
organic. There were some inconsistencies in the aqueous entrainment sample
collection and testing during the Robinson campaign and most of the data was collected
after operations recommenced in February 2008 after the holiday break. Aqueous
entrainments were of great interest especially due to the chloride transfer issue
experienced in March and April 2008. Compared to previous pilot campaigns, aqueous
entrainments were high for the Robinson campaign. Average aqueous entrainment
results for the Robinson Campaign are presented in below.
High aqueous entrainments experienced in the pLO coming from 4° SX, might be
associated with small size of the circuit and the low temperature at which it operated.
The 4°SX circuit was the only circuit in SX which had no form of heating, neither direct
nor indirect; the 4°SX circuit was running at ambient temperatures for the entire
campaign. Compounding this problem was the lack of control within the actual circuit,
due to minor design flaws, in regards to the transfer of organic and aqueous from one
cell to another from the launders to the mixers. The launders were getting empty and
therefore the mixers were drawing in far too much air, another big contributor to poor
disengagement and aqueous entrainments. Fortunately, the pLO travels to 3°SX cell
E6 where it is blended in with the SO used for 3° extraction. 3°SX relied on an indirect
heating source as the 3°PLS coming into the circuit was pre-heated to ~40°C, and the
3° circuit operated at temperatures high enough (~35-38°C) to allow for relatively low
aqueous entrainments coming out in the circuit’s loaded organic (LO) stream.
Of particular interest were the entrainments in the WLO, especially with regards to the
high chloride transfer to Electrowinning during the campaign. While the overall average
value remained relatively “low,” Figure 32 shows the increasing trend of these
entrainments during the March-April period of the Robinson campaign. It was during
these two months where the wash mixer impeller rpm or mixing speed was increased
first to its maximum frequency and then even beyond that. Aqueous entrainment values
more than doubled but then started to immediately decrease once the cause of this
issue was identified. A quick test was performed in the field in early May indicating that
at 57 Hz (max = 60 Hz) WLO entrainment values were at 1000 ppm, while at 47 Hz,
they remained <500 ppm.
1200
1000
Aqueous Entrainments (ppm)
800
600
400
200
March 14 - April 15 2008
0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
3
Organic Processed (m )
Figure 32 Robinson WLO Aqueous Entrainments
The stripped organic also showed high average aqueous entrainment values as it
suffered from similar issues faced by the 4° SX circuit in terms of air entrainment. The
strip cells pulled the WLO from the WLO coalescer which fed the cells as gravity feed.
It was often difficult to maintain a balance between an overflowing coalescer and higher
air entrainments in the strip cells. It was often the latter option which was executed
leading higher-than-desired aqueous entrainments in the stripped organic. Fortunately,
there was no detrimental effect on the overall SX circuit as a result of these high
entrainment values.
Coalescer Performance
Both the Loaded Organic Coalescer and the Washed Loaded Organic Coalescer are
designed to help remove entrained aqueous from the organic streams prior the next
stage. The removal of aqueous is important to reduce impurity transfer (especially
chlorides) between the extraction and stripping stages. Collection of aqueous solution
from the coalescers over a longer period of time provides additional insight into the level
of aqueous entrainments in the SX circuit. It should be noted however that the
coalescers can only measure the amount of aqueous removed and not the exact
amount that was present prior to or following after the coalescer.
Table 17 Robinson SX LO & WLO Coalescer Performance

Robinson 2007 Robinson 2008
Volume Equivalent Volume Equivalent
Unit
Aqueous Entrainment Aqueous Entrainment
Removed Removed Removed Removed
L ppm L Ppm
LO Coalescer 655 55699 208 7501
WLO Coalescer 432 23354 256 11146
As indicated in Table 17, the LO Coalescer served to remove a significant portion of the
aqueous entrainments exiting the extraction cells. It should be noted a large portion of
the total volume removed, especially from the LO Coalescer, came from the periods in
October and November 2007 where the KPT was experiencing serious emulsion
problems as previously discussed. These problems in the KPT would eventually lead
to increased crud transfer to the extraction cells and subsequent poor disengagements
and aqueous entrainments. Further evidence of this can be observed in Figure 33,
which shows some shifts removing over 100 L from the LO Coalescer during this time.
Figure 34 provides an even closer look at this period of time when the major incidents
with the KPT lead to plant shutdowns and high aqueous entrainment values in the LO.
Figure 33 also helps to further reinforce the explanation of the phenomenon discussed
in the last section: aqueous entrainment issues in March and April 2008 leading to
chloride transfer to EW because of over mixing in the wash cell mixer. There clearly are
some higher values of aqueous being removed from the WLO at this time than from the
LO, which clearly indicates poor phase disengagement across the wash cell – this is
further examined in both Figure 35 and Figure 36. All zero values in the figures below
actually represent 0 L removed from the coalescer and not a lack of data
1000.0
KPT
Emulsion
Problems
100.0
Commissioning
Aqueous Recovery (L)
& Saftety
Shutdown Shutdown
10.0
1.0
16-Aug-07 5-Oct-07 24-Nov-07 13-Jan-08 3-Mar-08 22-Apr-08 11-Jun-08
0.1
Date
LOC WOC
Figure 33 Robinson LO and WLO Coalescer Aqueous Recovery
140.0
120.0
100.0
80.0
Aqueous (L)
60.0
40.0
20.0
0.0
5-Oct-07 15-Oct-07 25-Oct-07 4-Nov-07 14-Nov-07 24-Nov-07 4-Dec-07 14-Dec-07
-20.0
Date
Figure 34 LO Coalescer Aqueous Recovery October/November 2007

12.0
10.0
Aqueous Recovery (L)
8.0
6.0
4.0
2.0
0.0
Date
Figure 35 Robinson LO Coalescer Aqueous Recovery Feb - Jun 2008
12.0
10.0
8.0
Aqueous (L)
6.0
4.0
2.0
0.0
Date
Figure 36 Robinson SX WLO Coalescer Recovery Feb - Jun 2008
Clay Treatment
During normal SX circuit operation, the organic phase becomes contaminated by
various polar organic contaminants such as organic degradation products, flotation
chemicals, flocculants, coagulants, detergents, and oils. These contaminants typically
orient themselves at the interface and affect the organic health by slowing phase
separation and reducing reaction kinetics.
Cognis pioneered the concept of clay treatment in the early 1980’s using acid activated
clay. As plants began to implement clay treatment, the benefits soon became apparent.
Clay treatment is now common practice throughout the world and most new facilities
include a clay treatment facility as part of the SX plant. The clay adsorbs the polar
organic contaminants and helps rejuvenate the circuit organic to an acceptable
operating quality. Clay treatment dosages typically range from 1 – 4 % w clay/w
organic; CESL uses a ~1.0% w/w clay dose to minimize operating costs. In the past,
CESL has aimed for yearly treatment (calculated based on 24h, 365 day operations) of
the organic inventory, although during the Robinson Campaign, on additional
“maintenance treatment” was performed when time allowed or whenever bench
disengagement rates fell below standards. Extensive organic clay treatment was also
undertaken during March and April 2008 in an effort to reduce chloride transfer to
Electrowinning.
During this campaign, 6405 m3 of organic were processed through the CESL Robinson
SX plant. The total clay treated volume of organic for the entire Robinson campaign
was 7.9 m3 or 0.125% of the total organic processed. Clay treatment was performed
based on 9 grams of clay per liter of organic. A total of 74 kg of clay was consumed for
treatment of the circuit organic. Based on both Bench disengagement rates (as outlined
above), this level of clay treatment was sufficient to maintain adquate organic health
(although slightly below target as previously discussed) in order to help achieve the
overall objective of the Robinson campaign. Testwork results on the effects of clay
treatment on organic health are discussed in further detail in the Organic Health section
of this report.
Crud Treatment
Solids enter the Solvent Extraction circuit via the 3° and 4° PLS streams. Most of the
solids are caught up in the KPT circuit (in the case of the 3°PLS), and some of the
solids that pass through are caught in the main SX circuit settlers. Some of the solids
pass right through the KPT and SX circuits. The solids that are caught in the KPT and
main SX circuit form crud. Crud is normally removed periodically, as required, from the
settlers. Aqueous and kerosene/organic entrained in the crud are drained off,
separated, and clay treated before being returned to their respective circuits. This helps
reduce the overall cost of solvent losses across the circuits. The remaining crud (which
is still a liquid, although it is pretty viscous) is then treated with clay, usually at a ratio of
1 g of clay for every gram of crud. While most of the crud was removed from the
3°KPT, there was a relatively large amount of crud removed from the SX settlers, with
the overwhelmingly large majority of this crud removed from the extraction cells and not
from the wash or strip circuits.
Unfortunately, there was only sporadic recording of the crud removed from all the
circuits during the Robinson campaign and therefore volumes and masses of crud
removed from individual cells (E5, Wash etc.) can not be presented. A total mass of
crud removed during the campaign is available by subtracting the mass of clay added to
both kerosene and organic crud treatment processes. The total mass of crud removed
during the Robinson Campaign was 412 kg. The elemental analysis of a campaign
composites of crud collected during the Robinson Campaign is presented in Table 18.
Table 18 Robinson Campaign Clay Treated Crud Elemental Analysis
Crud Type Al Ca Cu Fe K S(t) Mg Na Pb Zn

% % % % % % % % % %
3° KPT Crud
n/a 0.38 3.06 25.4 n/a 16.2 n/a n/a 0.12 0.44
Solids
3°/4° SX Crud
n/a 0.32 4.97 13.5 n/a 10.1 n/a n/a 0.19 1.82
Solids
Qualitatively, it would appear that most of the crud removed from the 3° KPT was mostly
hematite or basic iron sulphate solids coming over from the leach plant, as can also be
seen Table 18. This was often combined with large amounts of surfactants as
evidenced by its slippery and spongy consistency. Hematite contains mainly iron and is
easily identified by the reddish-brown colour of the crud. Much of the crud that was
removed from the 3° circuit was similar in nature to that removed form the KPT. The
crud removed from the 4° circuit often had a grey appearance and was assumed to be
some left over gypsum solids having come in the 4°PLS after the solution had been run
through the 3° Neutralization circuit.
Robinson SX Conclusions and Recommendations
Although the Solvent Extraction circuit operated well during the Robinson Campaign, it
was not without its fair share of problems, most notably with KPT emulsion formation
and chloride impurity transfer to Electrowinning. That being said the following
recommendations can be made having completed the Robinson campaign:
 Any testwork performed at the bench scale for the purposes of applying the
results to the demo plant must include a bench scale KPT and SX circuit. This is
necessary to determine any detrimental effects various reagents might have on
the KPT and SX circuits. For example, while different surfactants may prove to
be beneficial for the leach circuits, they may cause serious harm to the solvents
used in the KPT and SX circuits.
 Although it might be feasible / desirable to feed the KPT directly from the leach
circuits, it is recommended that any future flowsheet should include an interim
PLS storage/feed tank. This tank can serve as a buffer if problems are being
experienced in the SX circuit and can also serve as reactor tank and addition
point for the addition of hydrogen peroxide in order to reduce PLS TOCs by
oxidizing deleterious upstream surfactants.
 A pump should be installed on all lines that do not have a significant head
pressure based on a gravity feed. A mixing impeller within a mixer-settler should
not always be solely relied upon as a means for pumping solution from one
place to another (this is not including interstage/mixer-settler recirculation
streams). A mixing impeller operating at high tip speeds in order to maintain a
target flowrate will lead to over-mixing, poor phase disengagement, aqueous
entrainments and impurity transfer.
 Future campaigns should ensure that strict accounting is maintained on all mixer
RPMs and mixer-settler temperatures. These two values are both key factors
when determining causes for poor disengagement and impurity transfer,
however they are often overlooked.
 LO and WLO coalescers should both be in the SX flowsheet until certain one or
either of them can be removed as aqueous entrainments remain low/unchanged.
 Separate circuits for the kerosene clay/crud treatment and organic clay/crud
treatment should be constructed. As the mentioned treatments are all
necessary, having separate circuits would reduce organic contamination of the
kerosene and vice versa.

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Summary

Table 1 Robinson SX Organic Compositions

Table 2 Robinson SX Aqueous Compositions

Cu Free Acid pH Cl- Iron

Table 3 Robinson SX Circuit Organic:Aqueous Ratios

Table 4 Robinson Solvent Extraction Production and Consumption

Reagents & Consumables

Cu Free Acid pH Cl Iron

Table 7 Robinson SX Product Composition

Figure 1 Robinson SX 3°PLS and 3°Raff Copper Tenors

Figure 2 Robinson SX 4°PLS and 4°Raff Copper Tenors

Table 8 Robinson Solvent Extraction Operating Conditions

Overall O:A Ratio

Target O:A = (PLS [Cu] – Raffinate [Cu]) g Cu /L Aqueous = L organic/L aqueous

Target O:A = (40 – 12) g Cu /L Aqueous = 2.4L organic/L aqueous

Mixer O:A Ratio

Mixer Phase Continuity

Mixer Retention Time

Settler Retention Time

Specific Settler Flow

Advance Settler Velocity

 Kerosene Pre-Treatment (KPT) Results

Suspended Solids Removal

Table 9 Robinson SX TOC Data

Figure 3 Robinson Campaign SX 3°PLS TOC Values

KPT Surfactant Characterization

Disengagement Rate, sec.

Figure 6 Disengagement Rate vs. TOC Value Testwork – November 2007

PLS TOC (ppm)

PLS Processed (m3)

Figure 9 Robinson Campaign Pre-KPT 3°PLS TOC Values

KPT Kerosene Clay Treatment

Addition of Pre-KPT PLS Tank (“Tank 5”)

“Autoclave Treatment” Testwork & Treatment

Activated Carbon Testwork & Treatment

3°PLS TOC (ppm) 500

Hydrogen Peroxide Testwork and Treatment

A test performed was to determine the effectiveness of different volumetric

TOC Levels vs. H2O2 Concentration

Disengagement Rates vs. H2O2 Concentration

Disengagement Rate (m3/m2/hr)

Figure 13 Effect of Hydrogen Peroxide (50%) Addition on PLS/Kerosene DRs

Figure 14 Hydrogen Peroxide Addition and PO Surfactants Used Robinson 2007/2008

Earlier Feb. 29 Apr. 7 Apr. 15 Apr. 25 Apr. 28

KPT Emulsion Control Chart Analysis

KPT Emulsion Formation

KPT Emulsion Formation

Value UCL Avg+2s Avg+1s Center Line Avg-1s Avg-2s Lcl

Figure 16 KPT Phase Separation - 3°PLS/Kersoene DR Times

KPT Emulsion Formation EAL Operations -

OPD PLS hits 3°KPT -

Value UCL Avg+2s Avg+1s Center Line Avg-1s Avg-2s Lcl

Figure 17 KPT Phase Separation - 3°PLS TOC Values

3° KPT Temp (°C)

KPT Emulsion Formation

Value UCL Avg+2s Avg+1s Center Line Avg-1s Avg-2s Lcl

Figure 18 KPT Phase Separation - 3° KPT Operating Temperature

3°KPT Operating temperature (temperature in the mixer/settler) was originally thought

Value UCL Avg+2s Avg+1s Center Line Avg-1s Avg-2s Lcl

Figure 19 KPT Phase Separation KIV - 3°PLS ppm Solids

Organic Copper Loading

Organic [ Actual Load Cu (g/L) – Actual Strip Cu (g/L) ]

Max Actual Organic Loading

Chloride Transfer to Electrowinning