Modelling the kinetics of chalcocite leaching in acidified ferric chloride media under fully controlled pH and potential

摘要

The availability and efficiency of water use is now a major concern for the global minerals industry. Seawater is a potential water source for mineral beneficiation and metal extraction processes. With a focus on using seawater for heap leaching, we investigated and modelled the kinetics of chalcocite leaching with ferric chloride. To this end, a series of leaching tests were carried out in jacketed reactors under fully controlled pH and solution potential at ambient temperature using pure chalcocite as the model mineral. The effects of key parameters, including chloride concentration, ferric concentration, ferrous concentration, ferric/ferrous ratio, temperature, and particle size, were determined on the first and second stages of chalcocite leaching.