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How does electrowinning recover copper from a leach solution?
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copper processing
Molten copper being made into plates.
In the context of copper metallurgy, electrowinning is a highly effective method for recovering pure copper from a leach solution.12
The process functions within an electrolytic cell using the following mechanism:
- Setup: The leach solution is placed in a tank containing insoluble anodes (often made of lead) and cathode starter sheets.12
- Electrolysis: An electric current is passed through the solution, causing it to dissociate.1
- Deposition: The current forces the copper ions to move out of the solution and deposit onto the cathode starter sheet in a pure, solid form.12
Because electrowinning requires a high concentration of metal to be cost-effective, low-grade copper leach solutions are often first processed through solvent extraction. This concentrates the copper into a smaller volume, creating a solution with a metal content suitable for efficient electrolytic precipitation. This method is capable of producing cathode copper with a purity exceeding 99.9 percent.12