The mineral processing and metallurgical industries, including hydrometallurgical leaching operations, often generate waste and contaminate solutions that require treatment prior to disposal into the environment. Internal process streams also often require treatment to prevent the build-up of elements that are detrimental to recoveries or process efficiency. The same industries also commonly use sulphide reagents in the metal extraction process, or require sulphide reagents to treat wastewater or chemical effluent. Global shortages and uncertainty of sulphide reagent supply, combined with rising demand, have driven up prices for sulphide reagents, creating opportunity for alternative sources of supply.

BioteQ's BioSulphide® and ChemSulphideT Processes can be used both for treating contaminated water and internal process streams in mineral processing and metallurgical processes to extract metals such as copper, zinc, nickel, and cobalt from solution, producing saleable metal products and clean water that can be safely discharged to the environment. The technologies also offer a viable alternative for primary metal recovery from heap leach solutions, particulary for low solution flows and metal grades. The BioSulphide® Process can also be used to generate sulphide reagent for use in mineral processing and metallurgical processes as an alternative to chemical sulphide reagents. Click here for more information about BioteQ's technology.

BioteQ is presently constructing a treatment plant to remove copper from cyanide solution, and regenerate cyanide for re-use in gold extraction at the Lluvia de Oro gold mine site in Mexico. Click here to read more about BioteQ's development projects.

• BioteQ's process removes metals from leach solutions and process streams, improving the efficiency and recoveries of those industrial processes; metals recovered can be sold to offset treatment costs.
• BioteQ's process produces treated water that meets strict water quality criteria, and can be safely discharged to the environment or recycled back to the industrial process.
• BioteQ's process costs less than alternative treatments, both in initial capital and long-term operating costs.

Copper recovery from cyanide solutions at a gold leaching operation as part of a SART application, which includes cyanide recovery and recycle:

Metal recovery from waste streams at metal smelters and refining facilities:

Copper or nickel recovery from a heap leach operation as the primary method for metal winning:

Copper recovery from bleed stream in a heap leach operation using solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX-EW):