Fortescue of Australia Sells Over 40 Tonnes of Low-Arsenic Copper Concentrate for the First Time

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 19, Australian mining group Fortescue announced that the first batch of more than 40 tonnes of copper concentrate processed using its proprietary Toowong arsenic removal process has achieved commercial sales. The product was produced at its demonstration plant in Brisbane, Australia, from feedstock containing up to 7% arsenic, with arsenic content in the processed product reduced to below 0.25%. The process has completed seven test campaigns totaling more than 3,000 hours of operation, with copper retention exceeding 99.9%.

The Toowong process uses low-temperature, low-pressure hydrometallurgical technology to selectively remove arsenic and other impurities from copper concentrate through alkaline leaching, keeping copper in the solid concentrate. Some of the leaching reagents used in the process can be recovered through a regeneration and recycling system, while the separated arsenic-bearing materials are directed to downstream disposal. Compared with conventional roasting routes, the process does not rely on high-temperature roasting, and Fortescue is continuing to optimize energy consumption, operating costs and equipment configuration.

Fortescue acquired the Toowong process and related patents in 2022 and has since conducted approximately four years of technology development and demonstration validation in Brisbane. Previous test campaigns have reduced arsenic content in various batches of copper concentrate to below 0.3%. This first sale advances the demonstration testing to the stage of actual commercial transactions of processed product; the product sold still comes from the demonstration plant rather than a newly built large-scale commercial processing facility.

Fortescue is currently using copper concentrate from the Cañariaco Copper Project in Peru to test the applicability of the process and is advancing commercial engineering design. The relevant tests target the arsenic characteristics of copper concentrate from this project and assess how arsenic removal processing integrates with existing mine development plans and concentrate sales arrangements. The company's subsequent engineering work includes optimizing the capital investment and operating costs of the processing facility.