Effect of iron in zinc silicate concentrate on leaching with sulphuric acid

It is shown that the iron content in zinc silicate concentrates with either high (8–11%) or low (3%) iron does not significantly affect the kinetics or overall recovery of zinc extraction in sulphuric acid. Most of the iron was present as hematite and franklinite with little iron contained in willemite. A small reduction in zinc recovery from 98.5% to 97.5% was observed for silicate ores containing 12% iron. The activation energy determined from high-iron concentrate leaching, 78 ± 12 kJ/mol, is statistically similar to that from low-iron concentrate, 67 ± 10 kJ/mol, suggesting the same rate-controlling step. The leaching of high high-iron concentrates enables a higher mass recovery during flotation. A flowsheet is proposed comprising a magnetic separation step to produce a magnetic and a non-magnetic product so that iron dissolution from the magnetic concentrate acts as a source of soluble iron for impurities removal.