The bacterial pre-oxidation process of arsenic-containing gold concentrates and the bacterial activity under different chloride ion concentrations were studied by using a mixture of thermophilic strains TCJ domesticated in production.The experimental result shows that with different samples and leaching systems,the adaptability and Cl- tolerance of bacteria are different,and that appropriate chloride ion concentration is conductive to bacterial oxidation,while higher chloride ion concentration will inhibit the bacterial activity and affect the pre-oxidation performance.Under the present production conditions,TCJ can adapt to the changes of water quality in the source of water and its critical chloride ion tolerance value is 2.7 g/L.
The variation of microbial community structure was investigated for the tank bioleaching process of Pb-Zn-Sn chalcopyrite concentrate in the presence of mixed moderately thermophilic bacteria. The parameters, such as pH value, solution potential and concentrations of metal ions, were determined by the method of polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism （PCR-RFLP） to analyze the succession of microbial community. The results showed that a final copper extraction rate of 85.6% could be obtained after tank bioleaching for 30 d. The Acidithiobacillus caldus was the dominant population with abundance of about 73.80%in the initial stage, then Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans dominated from the 18th day to the end of bioleaching, while the abundance of Leptospirillum ferriphilum changed slightly. A higher solution potential within a certain range and appropriate concentration of ferric ions were essential for this tank bioleaching of chalcopyrite.
This paper presents the effect of mineralization on chalcopyrite chemical leaching in very simple H2SO4 solution systems at pH 1.0, with 5 % chalcopyrite con- centrate at 65 ~C. The copper extractions after 12 days leaching of marine volcanic and porphyry chalcopyrite were 85.7 and 66.6 %, respectively. It was found that sulphur element formed on the surface of two samples as a result of XRD and SEM-EDAX, which was very porous that did not inhibit chemical leaching reaction. Meanwhile, （Cu, Fe）12As4S13 formed on the surface of porphyry type chalcopyrite, which may cause low leaching ratio of por- phyry type chalcopyrite as passivation. （Cu, Fe）12As4S13 may be one kind of the polysulphide compounds.
Based on the bioleaching mechanism and electrochemical studies of metal sulfides, the dissolution rates of chalcocite and pyrite are controlled by redox potentials. Experiment on the bioleaching of chalcocite and pyrite under constant redox potential by sparging with nitrogen gas was demonstrated. By leaching at low and constant redox potential（〈760 mV, vs SHE）, copper recoveries of 90 %–98 % are achieved, which are 10 times more than iron recoveries. The iron-oxidizing bacterial populations are observed to continue to reduce under oxygen limitation conditions, but the Acidithiobacillus that have only sulfur-oxidizing capabilities are an attractive alternative for redox-controlled bioleaching of chalcocite.Thus, the described redox control technique might be one of the effective approaches to balance acid and iron in Zijinshan copper bio-heap leaching practice.
Biao WuJian-Kang WenBo-Wei ChenGuo-Cheng YaoDian-Zuo Wang
The purification efficiency in the treatment of the mine drainage generated by the mineral processing industry in Mengzi,Yunnan Project, China, was investigated, and the influences of the treated drainage on the mineral electrodes' electrochemical behaviors were tested. Experiments with different doses of polyacrylamide(PAM) and polymeric ferric sulfate(PFS) at different pH values were carried out, and the advanced purification by activated carbon(AC) was conducted. Compared with PFS, the better coagulant for removal efficiency is PAM, under the optimal conditions, the removals of Pb2+, Zn2+, Cu2+ and COD reduction from solution were 94.8%, 79.9%, 87.6% and 85%, respectively. In the advanced purification, the particle size of activated carbon and agitation time played important roles in the removal efficiency. Each pollute concentration could meet the emission standard of pollutants for lead and zinc industry(GB25466—2010). The wastewater without treatment affected galena and sphalerite electrochemical behaviors greatly, after treatment by the technology, the effects disappeared, which proved the reliability of the technology for wastewater treatment.
