Abstract
Ferrous ions enhance copper extraction from chalcopyrite in sulfuric acid solutions in air at ambient temperatures, because they promote chalcopyrite oxidation with dissolved oxygen. However iron-oxidizing bacteria such as Thiobacillus ferrooxidans rapidly consume ferrous ions, suppressing copper extraction. In this paper, three compounds were used to inhibit ferrous oxidation by T. ferrooxidans and their effects on ferrous promoted chalcopyrite leaching were investigated in the presence and absence of the bacteria. Sodium lauryl sulfate and tannic acid suppressed not only the bacterial ferrous oxidation but also the chalcopyrite oxidation with dissolved oxygen, resulting in a suppression of copper extraction. High concentrations of sulfuric acid (> 0.05 mol dm-3) suppressed the bacterial ferrous oxidation and promoted chalcopyrite oxidation with dissolved oxygen, causing enhanced copper extraction.
