More than 40 commercial operations on six continents successfully employed Sherritt technology for the recovery of non-ferrous (nickel, copper, cobalt, zinc, uranium and others) and precious (gold, silver and platinum group metals) metals. Sherritt has provided technologies and expert services to most of the world’s major mining companies.
Refractory Gold
Sherritt’s process for treatment of refractory gold feed materials provides significantly increased gold recoveries while producing environmentally stable residues (particularly those with high arsenic), and is compatible with conventional cyanidation and other gold recovery processes. Learn more
Zinc Concentrates
Sherritt’s Zinc Pressure Leach technology allows for production of zinc and elemental sulphur from sulphide concentrates, alone or in combination with other feeds, without the simultaneous production of sulphur dioxide or sulphuric acid. Learn more
Copper Ores and Concentrates
Sherritt has conducted numerous research programs, from laboratory to pilot plant scale, to develop economically competitive and environmentally acceptable pressure leach technology for the treatment of copper-iron sulphide ores and concentrates. The major benefits include high recoveries of both copper and precious metals, and conversion of sulphur to the elemental state, or alternatively its fixation as gypsum or sulphuric acid for oxide ore leaching. The hydrometallurgical process may also be readily integrated with existing smelting operations to process selected copper concentrates, roaster dusts and other copper bearing feedstocks. The copper pressure leach processes can be adapted to the treatment of arsenic-bearing feeds for the recovery of copper and gold with fixation of arsenic as a ferric arsenate (or scorodite) residue.
Metal-Bearing Sulphides
Sherritt has developed technologies to recover non-ferrous and precious metals from sulphide concentrates and other feed materials which are not economically suitable for treatment in conventional smelters. These technologies offer high recoveries of the metal values while producing an environmentally stable residue.
Mattes
Sherritt has developed and commercialized technologies to recover nickel, cobalt, copper and platinum-group metals from mattes and other feed materials.
Nickel Laterites
Sherritt’s technologies to recover nickel and cobalt from laterite ores have been applied in Sherritt’s own operations for more than 50 years and today are accepted as the preferred processes for treatment of laterite feeds amongst commercial plants.