Abstract
In this study the alkaline leaching of enargite Cu 3AsS 4 (El Indio, Chile) in the medium of sodium sulphide was investigated. The rate of leaching can be influenced by the pre-treatment consisting of mechanical activation of the concentrate in a stirring ball mill (attritor). The XRD and XPS methods used to characterise the bulk and surface properties of the solid phase after leaching have shown that arsenic extraction from enargite leads to its transformation to covellite CuS. On the basis of the value of experimental activation energy (62 kJmol −1) we can conclude that a chemical reaction is the rate-determining process of the reaction between Cu 3AsS 4 and Na 2S. The applied procedure represents a potentionality of de-arsenification of sulphidic concentrates and preparation of a charge convenient for further processing, e.g., by pyro-treatment.
Published Version
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