Abstract Low-grade copper ore with high fines content is required for agglomeration because of the low permeability of the ore bed during acid heap leaching. However, few binders are effective in keeping agglomerates stable in acidic solution. In this study, the effect of geopolymerization on the particle size, compressive strength, acid resistance, and microstructure of fine-sized copper ore-based agglomerates formed by drum agglomeration was examined. In addition, the performances of the feed, agglomerates, and coarse-grained ore in the column leaching process were examined. The results showed that the agglomerates had a larger particle size after the agglomeration process. Further, the agglomerates had high strength and acid resistance because of the formation of geopolymer gel by the geopolymerization process. Column leaching experiments revealed that the agglomerates had good stability, a looser bed, and better permeability in the column, whereas leaching of the feed in the column was difficult because of the low permeability of the feed. Moreover, the leaching rate of agglomerates formed by geopolymerization was significantly higher than that of the coarse-grained ore. The proposed method for the production of fine-sized copper ore-based agglomerates by geopolymerization has potential application in heap leaching.

中文翻译：

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地聚合法堆浸细粒铜矿团聚

摘要 由于酸堆浸过程中矿床渗透率低，因此需要使用细粉含量高的低品位铜矿进行附聚。然而，很少有粘合剂能有效地使团聚体在酸性溶液中保持稳定。在这项研究中，研究了地质聚合对通过鼓团聚形成的细​​粒度铜矿基团聚体的粒度、抗压强度、耐酸性和微观结构的影响。此外，还检查了柱浸过程中进料、附聚物和粗粒矿石的性能。结果表明，团聚过程后团聚体具有较大的粒径。此外，由于地质聚合过程形成地质聚合物凝胶，附聚物具有高强度和耐酸性。柱浸实验表明，团块具有良好的稳定性，床层较松，柱内渗透性较好，而柱内进料由于渗透率低而难以浸出。此外，地聚合形成的团矿浸出率明显高于粗粒矿。提出的通过地质聚合生产细粒度铜矿基团块的方法在堆浸中具有潜在的应用价值。