Base Metals

Jacobs provides solutions for the mineral processing, hydro-metallurgical and pyrometallurgical treatment of simple and complex ore bodies. Jacobs’ experience includes a wide range of plant capacities and metal production rates, incorporating the treatment of non-ferrous sulfide and oxide minerals such as copper, lead, zinc and nickel.

Copper 
Jacobs has global project experience in the process design, engineering, construction and commissioning of copper and polymetallic concentrators. This includes all major unit operations, such as: gyratory, jaw and cone crushers; rod, ball and tower mills; semi and fully autogenous grinding mills; conventional and column flotation cells, thickeners and filters.

With extensive capability using a range of primary smelting processing techniques, in recent years Jacobs has undertaken projects ranging from retrofitting existing smelters to performing grassroots construction.

Jacobs is also experienced in all aspects of solvent extraction. Recent projects include installation of the world’s largest reverse-flow mixer-settlers, and engineering and constructing one of the world’s lowest cost-per-tonne copper facilities in Chile.

Nickel
In the last decade, Jacobs has been involved in more than 35 nickel/cobalt projects including all of the operating Australian lateritic nickel projects. The projects have included ore beneficiation, concentrators, pressure acid leach (PAL), heap leaching, pressure oxidation (POX), sulphide precipitation, hydroxide precipitation, hydrogen reduction, Caron process, smelters, solvent extraction, and electrowinning plants.

Lead
Ninety percent of the world's primary lead is produced by the well tried and proven blast furnace method. The remainder is produced by the newly developed direct lead smelting processes; processes which produce lead directly from sulphide concentrates. Jacobs has experience in, and access to, the technology for both primary and secondary lead production that is used for recycling lead.

Zinc
The majority of the world's zinc is produced by the electrolytic zinc process - by the decomposition of an aqueous solution of zinc sulphate by an electric current. Virtually all of the remainder is produced by the Imperial Smelting Process. Jacobs has successfully delivered projects utilizing both processes.

Project Experience Toromocho Copper Project Minera Chinalco Peru, Peru Collahuasi Copper Mine Compañía Minera Doña Inés de Collahuasi, Chile Esperanza Copper / Gold Project AME Group, Chile