Selective leaching of antimony and arsenic from mechanically activated tetrahedrite, jamesonite and enargite

In this study, the changes in surface area, morphology and leachability of antimony and arsenic from tetrahedrite, jamesonite and enargite mechanically activated by a high-energy planetary mill were investigated. It appears that the leaching of antimony from tetrahedrite and jamesonite and arsenic from enargite in alkaline solution of sodium sulphide is temperature-sensitive reaction. The temperature dependencies of all reactions were investigated in the interval 313–363 K. Resulting experimental activation energies were Ea = 111–182 kJ mol− 1 for mechanically activated minerals. The values of Ea are characteristic for processes controlled by surface chemical reactions.