A new paradigm in copper metallurgy?

Chalcopyrite floats well giving good recoveries to concentrate, but despite numerous studies, attempts to leach chalcopyrite have been commercially unsuccessful without the use of high temperature or high-cost oxidising agents. New technologies that appear to improve copper solubility from primary copper sulphides under conventional leach conditions that can then be recovered using a traditional SxEw operation has been developed by Jetti Resources, LLC, in collaboration with the University of British Columbia (UBC). Commercial scale trials of a different technology is also being undertaken by Antofagasta Minerals.