MINERALOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ANODE SLIMES .10. TELLURIUM IN RAW ANODE SLIMES

A mineralogical study of the raw anode slimes (that is, the slimes bef ore decopperizing) from the refining of a typical commercial copper an ode and three Te-rich copper anodes was carried out to elucidate the b ehaviour of tellurium in the refining circuit. Most of the Te occurred as tiny particles of Ag-Cu selenide-telluride that retained the morph ologies of the selenide-relluride grain boundary inclusions in the ori ginal anodes. An important amount of Te was also present in the oxidat e phase, which is likely an intimate mixture of various precipitated C u-Ag-Pb sulphates, selenites, arsenates and tellurites with fine grain ed Au and Ag and/or selenide-telluride compounds. A trace amount of Te is also contained in the abundant secondary Cu2O phase and much rarer Cu-Te oxide, both of which precipitated in the raw anode slimes. The precipitated Te in the oxidate phase, Cu2O and Cu-Te oxide may have or iginated from the small amount of Te in solid solution in the copper a node or from the superficial dissolution of the Ag-Cu selenide-telluri de. Other species in the raw anode slimes such as CuSO4.5H(2)O, PbSO4, Sb-As-Bi-Sn-Pb-Cu oxide and CuCl are insignificant overall Te carrier s. Copyright (C) 1996 Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Pub lished by Elsevier Science Ltd.