Logo image
The dissolution of chalcopyrite in chloride solutions; Part 3. Mechanisms
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

The dissolution of chalcopyrite in chloride solutions; Part 3. Mechanisms

M. Nicol, H. Miki and L. Velásquez Yévenes
Hydrometallurgy, Vol.103(1-4), pp.86-95
2010
pdf
miki,_nicol_1.pdfDownloadView
Author’s Version Open Access
url
Link to Published Version *Subscription may be requiredView

Abstract

In Parts 1 and 2 of this series, which describe the results of a study of the dissolution of chalcopyrite under conditions that could be expected in a heap leaching process for primary copper minerals, it was shown that enhanced leaching of chalcopyrite from several copper concentrates in dilute acidic chloride solutions can be achieved by controlling the potential in a "window" of 560-600 mV (SHE) in the presence of dissolved oxygen. It was also found that the rate is linear and essentially independent of the initial concentration of chloride and cupric ions under these conditions. Furthermore, the rate appears to be largely independent of the source of the mineral and is strongly dependent on the temperature (activation energy = 72 kJ mol- 1). In this part, additional kinetic data on the effects of fine pyrite on the rate complemented by detailed mineralogical analysis of the residues will be used to demonstrate that sulfur forms a soluble intermediate such as H2S in the dissolution reaction. A summary of the results of a detailed study of the kinetics of the copper ion catalysed oxidation of H 2S by dissolved oxygen is presented which provides further support for a mechanism for the dissolution of chalcopyrite under heap leach conditions which involves an initial step involving non-oxidative dissolution to form H2S and either cupric ions or a covellite-like surface as the initial products.

Details

Metrics

334 File views/ downloads
106 Record Views

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Citation topics
7 Engineering & Materials Science
7.229 Mineral & Metal Processing
7.229.774 Bioleaching
Web Of Science research areas
Metallurgy & Metallurgical Engineering
ESI research areas
Materials Science
Logo image