A New Method for Recovering Fe(II) Sulfate, Copper, and Cobalt from Converter Slag

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Abstract
The aim of this study was to recover copper and cobalt from the stock-piled converter slags at the Ergani Mining Co. in Turkey. Copper and cobalt are present in various chemical forms in the slag. For that reason, copper and cobalt were first converted to Cu2S and CoS by passing H2S gas through a slurry of ground slag in H2SO4 solutions. In the second stage, the slurry was filtered and it was determined that 30–40% of the iron and trace amounts of copper and cobalt passed into the solution as Fe2+, Cu2+, and Co2+ ions. The slag residue was then dried at 105°C for 2 h and roasted in a muffle furnace at about 600–700°C for different time periods. In the third stage, the mass obtained at the end of the roasting process was boiled with distilled water and filtered. The final solution was brought to volume and analyzed for copper and cobalt. It was determined that practically all of the Cu and 70.7% of the Co passed into the solution.