copper

Extracting of Copper from Other Ores

1. Reaction of the ore (over quite a long time and on a huge scale) with a dilute acid such as dilute sulfuric acid to produce a very dilute copper(II) sulfate solution.

2. Concentration of the copper(II) sulfate solution by solvent extraction.

3. Electrolysis of the new solution.

Steps using chemical equation

Copper pyrite or chalcopyrite , cu2s is just heated and no reducing agent is required because copper follows self reduction process.

chemical reaction: 2Cu2S + 3O2→ 2Cu2O + 2SO2

Cu2S + 2Cu2O → 6Cu + SO2(self reduction reaction)

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