Sulphuric acid leaching of mechanically activated copper sulphidic concentrate

In this study, the effect of mechanical activation was evaluated on the leaching efficiency of copper sulphidic concentrate in 0.5 M sulphuric acid medium. The mechanical activation of samples was performed by a high energy planetary ball mill under the atmospheric conditions. The results showed that there was an optimum time of MA, about 6 h, in which the leaching efficiency reaches its maximum value (42% for 7 h of leaching). The improvement of leaching efficiency due to mechanical activation can be attributed to the significant decrease of the size of particles and the intense structural disordering of particles.

► Mechanical activation (MA) improved leaching efficiency of the sulphidic concentrate.
► Based on the XRD, the maximum structural disordering occurred after six MA.
► Excessive MA caused agglomeration of particles resulting in less leaching efficiency.