Hydrometallurgy 87 (2007) 73 82

www.elsevier.com/locate/hydromet

The role of sodium chloride on surface properties of chalcopyrite

leached with ferric sulphate
M.F.C. Carneiro, V.A. Leo
Ncleo de Valorizao de Materiais Minerais, Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto,
Praa Tiradentes, 20, Centro, Ouro Preto, MG, 35400-000, Brazil
Received 5 January 2006; received in revised form 13 November 2006; accepted 31 January 2007
Available online 14 March 2007

Abstract

Leaching of chalcopyrite in oxidizing conditions usually results in low copper extraction due to mineral passivation. It has been
proposed that sodium chloride has a positive effect on chalcopyrite dissolution increasing copper extraction. Aiming to bring
further insight into this topic, the present work seeks to evaluate the influence of sodium chloride on the leaching of chalcopyrite
focusing on surface area and porosity of the reaction products formed during leaching. A finely ground (d50 = 5.5 m) chalcopyrite
concentrate assaying 25.2% iron, 30.9% sulphur and 27.5% copper was leached in oxygenated ferric sulphate solutions at
atmospheric pressure and 95 C. It has been observed that although sodium chloride favoured natrojarosite precipitation, which
reduced the total iron concentration during leaching, copper extractions as high as 91% were accomplished as compared to 45%
copper extraction in the absence of NaCl. It is suggested that sodium chloride reduces chalcopyrite passivation and complexes Cu
(I) ions adding a second redox couple to the system. Furthermore, morphologic characterization of the reaction products performed
by SEM analyses as well as specific surface area and porosity measurements have confirmed that NaCl increases surface area and
porosity of the product layer, which explains the high copper extractions observed in the presence of the salt.
2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Chalcopyrite; Leaching; Sodium chloride; Surface area; Porosity

1. Introduction sively studied in 1970s (Haver and Wong, 1971; Jones

and Peters, 1976; Munoz et al., 1979; Yamakawa and
Chalcopyrite accounts for the largest worldwide Hine, 1970) and the proposed processes had been proven
copper concentrate production and pyrometallurgy is to be technically feasible although not economically
the main route to produce copper from these concentrates viable (Peacey et al., 2005). Currently, both the increase of
(Gupta and Mukherjee, 1990). Conversely, the mineral is base metal prices and the stricter environmental regula-
mostly refractory to hydrometallurgical processes due to tions have led to a renewed interest in copper hydro-
its high chemical stability in aqueous systems (Haver and metallurgy. As a result, a host of new innovative copper
Wong, 1971). hydrometallurgical processes has been proposed and
As far as hydrometallurgy is concerned, leaching is the piloted. These processes have been extensively reviewed
key step. Copper leaching from chalcopyrite was exten- (Peacey et al., 2005) and they can be grouped as follows:
(i) sulphate processes; (ii) sulphate/chloride processes;
Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 31 3559 1102; fax: +55 31 3559 1561. (iii) chloride (and bromide) processes. Among these
E-mail address: [email protected] (V.A. Leo). processes, those that rely on ferric sulphate solutions
0304-386X/$ - see front matter 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.hydromet.2007.01.005
74 M.F.C. Carneiro, V.A. Leo / Hydrometallurgy 87 (2007) 7382

present some advantages: the chemical reactions are well 2. Experimental

understood and copper recovery by solvent extraction
electrowinning is simple (Hackl et al., 1995). The main 2.1. Reagents and leaching procedure
reaction describing chalcopyrite oxidation by ferric
sulphate solutions can be written as: The chalcopyrite concentrate was kindly provided by
Caraba Metais a pyrometallurgy facility in Bahia,
CuFeS2 4Fe3 Cu2 5Fe2 2S 1
Brazil. This concentrate contained 69% chalcopyrite,
It is well known that reaction 1 has a slow kinetics 27% pyrite and 4% of an oxidized copper phase.
and its rate reduces with time. This is ascribed to the Chemical analysis showed 25.2% iron, 30.9% sulphur
formation of a passivating layer during leaching in and 27.5% copper. Before leaching, the concentrate was
oxidizing conditions, which inhibits further reaction dry ground in a vibrating cup mill (Pulverisette 9,
(Dreisinger, 2004; Jones and Peters, 1976; Warren et al., Fritsch) and the final sample had a d50 = 5.5 m.
1992). Many studies have been undertaken to establish The experimental set-up consisted of a conventional
the nature of this passivating layer and the conditions in leaching apparatus formed by a 500 mL four-neck
which it is formed. In a historical perspective, those borosilicate glass reactor. Stirring was provided by a
studies dealing with leaching kinetics suggested that this magnetic stirrer (Ika Ceramag Midi), which also heated
layer is composed by non-porous sulphur. Later on, the reactor. Additional heating was supplied by a 5 cm
electrochemical experiments (polarization curves, cyclic heating tape (Fisatom, model 5 Standard Class 300).
voltammentry, for instance) have proposed that passiva- Temperature was thermostatically controlled (Fisatom
tion is caused by an amorphous non-stoichiometric temperature controller) at 95 C and the reactor was
sulphide (Warren et al., 1992). operated under closed conditions. A 0.5 m long straight
A review of the several processes that use chloride to condenser was connected to one neck to enable gases to
leach base metals sulphide can be found elsewhere escape and to reduce evaporation losses as oxygen
(Dreisinger, 2004; Dutrizac, 1992; Prasad and Pandey, (99%) was bubbled during the whole experiment.
1988; Venkatachalam, 1991). The interest in chloride Unless otherwise stated, its flowrate was controlled
systems relies on the high solubility of both copper and (Omega rotameter) at 0.45 L/min O2.
ferric iron in these systems as well as the easiness of The leaching solutions were prepared by mixing ferric
ferric ion regeneration. In addition, chalcopyrite leach- sulphate (Fe2(SO4)35H2O, Synth) and sodium chloride
ing with ferric chloride shows faster kinetics than ferric (NaCl, Synth). This solution was transferred to the reactor
sulphate solutions. These studies have also suggested and pH was adjusted to 0.15 with concentrated H2SO4.
that the sulphur formed as reaction product is more Next, oxygen bubbling was started and the leaching
porous when leaching was carried out in the presence of solution was stirred and heated until it reached the desired
chloride ions. Recently, Lu et al. (2000a,b,c) have temperature. Then, chalcopyrite concentrated was added
studied the effect of chloride ions on the sulphate to the system to produce a 5.0% (w/v) pulp. Samples of
leaching of different sulphide minerals using oxyge- the solution were withdrawn at predetermined time
nated solutions. They also proposed that a porous intervals. At the end of the experiment, the pulp was
sulphur layer (reaction product) was formed in the filtered and the residue was washed with distilled water.
presence of NaCl, which facilitated the reagent diffusion Copper and FeT (total iron) were assayed by atomic
to the mineral surface. Additionally, Winand (1991) absorption spectroscopy (AAS) in a Perkin Elmer Aana-
studying chalcopyrite leaching in the presence of lyst 100 device. Fe(II) was determined by titration with a
chloride ions has attributed higher leaching yields to standardized potassium dichromate solution (K2Cr2O7) in
the formation of copper complex with Cl which led to a the presence of an 1:1 ratio of H2SO4/H3PO4 (v/v) solution
higher copper solubility in ClCu(II)Cu(I) systems. using an automatic titrator (Tritoline Alpha, Schott).
This work sought to provide further insight into the
role of chloride ions on the ferric sulphate leaching of 2.2. Surface analysis
chalcopyrite. It will be demonstrated that NaCl enhances
chalcopyrite dissolution by increasing surface area and For the morphological studies, the concentrate was
porosity, changing the morphology of the reaction leached under a slightly different condition than those
product. This feature will be discussed in light of the described in the leaching experiments. The experiments
several proposed effects of chloride ions onto chalco- were performed with: 50 g/L Fe(III) (as Fe2(SO4)3); 0 or
pyrite leaching and will lead to a greater understanding 1.0 mol/L NaCl; 5.0% (w/v) solids; oxygen flowrate
of the whole process. 0.45 L/min; 95 C. The pH was set to 0.0 to reduce
 M.F.C. Carneiro, V.A. Leo / Hydrometallurgy 87 (2007) 7382 75

jarosite precipitation on the leaching residue. After 4 h concentrations, at 95 C. Fig. 1 shows the percentage of
leaching time, the solids were filtered, washed with copper leached from the concentrate. When chloride
distilled water and dried at 55 C, for 24 h. ions are absent, it can be seen that the leaching is very
Surface area and pore volume were determined by slow, with only 45% of the copper being extracted in a
nitrogen adsorption. Nitrogen isotherms were performed period of 10 h. This result is consistent with the slow
with a Nova 1000 High Speed Gas Sorption Analyzer kinetics observed in other studies of chalcopyrite
(Quantachrome). Sample degassing was carried out at leaching on sulphate systems (Hackl et al., 1995; Hirato
ambient temperature for 24 h to avoid (or minimize) et al., 1986; Jones and Peters, 1976; Majima et al., 1985;
effects of high temperature degassing on the sulphur Munoz et al., 1979). According to these previous works
layer formed during leaching. Nitrogen adsorption was the low copper extraction can be credited to the
performed at 196 C. Data were collected from a passivation of chalcopyrite surface. Fig. 1 also shows
relative pressure (p/p0) of 0.05 to 0.98. that at 0.5 mol/L Cl, copper dissolution increases to
Total surface area was calculated using the Brunauer 55%. Much better extractions are observed for higher
Emmett Teller (BET) adsorption isotherm model NaCl concentrations as copper dissolution reaches a
(Rouquerol and Sing, 1999) for the nitrogen isotherm maximum slightly above 90%, at 1.02.0 mol/L NaCl.
data. Surface area was calculated from the slope and y- These results confirm the positive effect of the presence
intercept of the linear region of the BET transformation of chloride ions on chalcopyrite leaching (Carneiro and
versus relative pressure plots. The nitrogen adsorption Leo, 2005; Hirato et al., 1986; Majima et al., 1985;
desorption data were also used to calculate the total Skorobian et al., 2005). Under similar conditions to
micro-pore volume and micro-pore surface area using those of the present work, Carneiro and Leo (2005)
the DubininRadushkevich (DR) potential theory. The have shown that the presence of sodium chloride also
micro-pore volume was calculated as the y-intercept of a increased chalcopyrite leaching with ferric chloride.
plot of the adsorption data in the following equation However, the effect was less pronounced: copper
(Rouquerol and Sing, 1999): extraction increased from 70% (without NaCl) to 81%
(1 mol/L NaCl). As in the present work copper dissolution
logV logV0 Dlogp=p0 2 2
increased from 45% (no NaCl) to 91% (1 mol/L NaCl),
where V and V0 are the volume of nitrogen adsorbed and chloride addition has a more important role on leaching
micro-pore volume, respectively, p/p0 the relative with Fe2(SO4)3 than FeCl3.
pressure, and D is a constant related to the energy of Total iron and Fe(II) concentrations are depicted in
adsorption. Surface area and porosity results were Figs. 2 and 3, respectively. Both figures show that the
obtained from at least three determinations for 95% total iron content is lower and Fe(II) concentrations are
confidence interval (Filfield and Kealey, 1995). higher in the presence of NaCl. In those experiments
where NaCl is added, Na+ ions led to the precipitation of
2.3. Scanning electron microscopy natrojarosite (reaction 3 and Fig. 4) reducing the Fe(III)
concentration during the experiments. Natrojarosite is
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to not observed in the experiments performed without
examine the morphology of the leach residues. The NaCl. Interestingly, the observed higher Fe(III)
samples were coated with graphite by electro-deposition,
using a Jeol JEE 4C instrument and investigated by a
JEOL JSM 5510 scanning electron microscope (SEM),
with an accelerating voltage 0.530 kV and equipped
with a spectrometer for micro-analysis based on an
energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy system (EDS).

3. Results

3.1. Influence of sodium chloride concentration on

chemical leaching
Fig. 1. Effect of NaCl concentration on copper extraction during ferric
The leaching of the chalcopyrite concentrate was sulphate leaching of chalcopyrite. Experimental conditions: d50:
initially studied by using solutions containing 50 g/L Fe 5.5 m; 50 g/L Fe3+; pH 0.15 (initial); 0.45 L/min O2; 5.0% solids
(III) (as ferric sulphate) and different sodium chloride (w/v); temperature: 95 C.
76 M.F.C. Carneiro, V.A. Leo / Hydrometallurgy 87 (2007) 7382

sharply reduced to 80% when particle size increased to

18 m. These different studies suggest therefore that fast
chalcopyrite leaching of coarse concentrate such as that
observed by Lu et al. (2000a) is likely associated to the
nature of the chalcopyrite sample.

3.2. Morphology and surface parameters of the leach

residues

Surface area and porosity were determined aiming to

gain insight on the effect of the presence of chloride ions
Fig. 2. Total iron concentration as a function of time for chalcopyrite on surface properties of the ferric sulphate leaching
leaching with ferric sulphate in the presence of NaCl. Experimental residue. Table 1 summarizes the results achieved for the
conditions: d50: 5.5 m; 50 g/L Fe3+; pH 0.15 (initial); 0.45 L/min O2; concentrate and the residue generated both in the
5.0% solids (w/v); temperature: 95 C. presence and in the absence of sodium chloride. Surface
area of the concentrate measured 1.51 0.23 m2/g. This
concentration in the absence of sodium chloride does not value is within the range observed in studies of fine
result in a faster or higher copper extraction, suggesting grinding of chalcopyrite samples, which ranges from 0.5
that other effects are responsible for the low recoveries. to 5.0 m2/g (Amer, 1995; Balz et al., 1996; Maurice
3Fe3 2SO2 and Hawk, 1998).
4 6H2 O
Na NaFeOH2 3 SO4 2 6H 3 It can be noticed that residue's surface area and
porosity (both volume and area) are higher in the
Lu et al. (2000a) have also observed that the presence presence of sodium chloride, which can be directly
of sodium chloride during leaching caused natrojarosite related to the higher extraction observed in the presence
precipitation. In their study Fe(III) was not added and of NaCl. Higher porosity facilitates diffusion of reagent
the oxidative conditions were provided only by oxygen and products to and from the reaction sites. Carneiro and
bubbling. Thus, the precipitated Fe(III) was originated Leo (2005) have also observed a beneficial effect of
from the chalcopyrite concentrate itself. sodium chloride on surface properties of chalcopyrite
As shown in Fig. 1, the copper extraction reached residues leached with FeCl3, but the effect was less
75% in 6 h and 91% in 10 h. These high yields can also pronounced. Surface area and micro-pores area slightly
be credited to the small particle size of the chalcopyrite increased from 0.71 0.05 m2/g and 0.87 0.06 m2/g, to
sample (d50 = 5.5 m, d100 = 50 m) which is consistent 0.94 0.13 m2/g and 1.10 0.15 m2/g, respectively, in
with the work of Maurice and Hawk (1998) that the absence and presence of Cl (1 mol/L).
observed 70% copper extraction for a 37 m particle SEM observations of the concentrate and leach
size concentrate leached with 1.0 mol/L FeCl3 and residues indicate different morphologies (Fig. 5). One
1.0 mol/L NaCl (1.0% solids, 90 C), in 5 h. High chalcopyrite particle is depicted in Fig. 5(a). After 4 h of
extractions were also observed by Lu et al. (2000a) in
which 97% copper dissolution was achieved during
ferric sulphate leaching of a coarser chalcopyrite
concentrate (d50 = 15.1 m, d100 = 180 m) in the
presence 0.5 mol/L NaCl and 95 C (9 h leaching
time). Such high copper dissolutions during leaching of
coarse concentrates are however not expected. For
instance, only 35% copper dissolution (in 6 h, at 90 C)
was observed during chalcopyrite leaching with
1.0 mol/L FeCl3 (and CCl4) of a 100 m concentrate
(Havlik and Kammel, 1995). In addition, Dreisinger
(2004), discussing the effect of particle size on the
pressure leaching (in the absence of chloride) of
Fig. 3. Time dependence of Fe(II) concentration for chalcopyrite
chalcopyrite (150 C), stated that higher than 90% leaching with ferric sulphate in the presence of NaCl. Experimental
extraction is only achieved for particle size below conditions: d50: 5.5 m; 50 g/L Fe3+; pH 0.15 (initial); 0.45 L/min O2;
13 m. According to the author, copper extraction 5.0% solids (w/v); temperature: 95 C.
 M.F.C. Carneiro, V.A. Leo / Hydrometallurgy 87 (2007) 7382 77

Fig. 4. X-ray diffraction of the residue produced during chalcopyrite leaching with ferric sulphate and sodium chloride. Experimental conditions: d50:
5.5 m; 50 g/L Fe3+; 1 mol/L NaCl; pH 0.15 (initial); 0.45 L/min O2; 5.0% solids (w/v); temperature: 95 C; 10 h leaching time.

leaching, a lamellar film is noticed covering the residue to leach chalcopyrite with chloride ions (FeCl2, CuCl2).
produced in the absence of chloride ions (Fig. 5(b) and These processes are far more common than those
(c)). It seems that the reaction product has grown based on the chloride/sulphate route. The former
following the morphology of the chalcopyrite particle include the CLEAR, CUPREX, CYMET, Minemet,
which is consistent with the observations of Majima et and Outokumpu, among other processes. All of them
al. (1985). Nevertheless, in the presence of NaCl the can be represented, essentially, by the following set of
elemental sulphur morphology is different (Fig. 5(d) and equations:
(e)). A more dense structure is formed and grows in
preferential directions suggesting some crystalline CuFeS2 Cu Fe2 2S0 3e 4
structure. Lu et al. (2000a,b,c) proposed that the reaction
product is elemental sulphur in both cases. In the present Cu nCl CuCln 1n 5
work, X-ray diffraction showed the presence of
elemental sulphur in the residue (Fig. 4) although it There is, however, an important difference as
was not seen by SEMEDS on the chalcopyrite surface. compared to ferric sulphate leaching. As cuprous ions
EDS always showed a phase formed by sulphur, copper are stable in chloride systems, the Cu(II)/Cu(I) couple
and iron, where the sulphur content was higher than in (instead of Fe(III)/Fe(II)) becomes the main chalcopyr-
the concentrate. As EDS and X-ray diffraction did not ite oxidant provided enough chloride is available:
confirm the presence of jarosite as the reaction product, CuFeS2 3Cu2 4Cu Fe2 2S 6
it is suggested that the main reaction product was
elemental sulphur. These processes were carried out at low pressure and
The positive effects of chloride ions on chalcopyrite therefore fine milled concentrates and leaching near the
leaching enabled the development of a series of processes solution boiling point were required for higher than 95%

Table 1
Surface parameters of chalcopyrite concentrate and residues of ferric sulphate leaching with and without sodium chloride
Parameter Chalcopyrite concentrate Residue after Fe2(SO4)3 Residue after Fe2(SO4)3
leaching with NaCl leaching without NaCl
Surface area (m2/g) 1.51 0.23 1.41 0.01 1.00 0.04
Microporous volume (cm3/g) (6.60 0.84) 10 4 (6.28 0.05) 10 4 (4.48 0.06) 10 4
Microporous area (m2/g) 1.86 0.23 1.78 0.01 1.27 0.02
Leach residues produced under the following experimental conditions: d50: 5.5 m; pH: 0.0 (initial); 50 g/L Fe3+; 0.45 L/min O2; 5.0% solids (w/v);
temperature: 95 C; time: 4 h. NaCl: 1.0 mol/L.
78 M.F.C. Carneiro, V.A. Leo / Hydrometallurgy 87 (2007) 7382

Fig. 5. Secondary electron micrograph of chalcopyrite before leaching. (a) Leach residues produced in the absence of NaCl: 3000 (b) and 6000 (d);
leach residues obtained in the presence of NaCl: 4000 (d) and 8000 (e). Panels (b) and (c) as well as panels (d) and (e) show the same particle,
respectively.

copper extractions. Either gaseous oxygen or Fe(III) copper grains suitable to be melted without significant
reoxidised Cu(I) to Cu(II) ensuring a high potential metal oxidation. The Minemet process extracted copper
during leaching. Copper was recovered by different from the pregnant solution with LIX-65N after oxygen
routes. The CLEAR process added powdered metallic injection to oxidize copper to Cu(II). After scrubbing the
copper to the pregnant solution to reduce all copper to chloride ions, the loaded organic was stripped with
Cu(I). Then, copper was produced by electrolysis using sulphuric acid so that a conventional acidic CuSO4
a diaphragm cell. High current densities were applied solution was produced and electrowon. The Cuprex
and together with mechanical agitation produced coarse process applied a different extractant (ACORGA CLX
 M.F.C. Carneiro, V.A. Leo / Hydrometallurgy 87 (2007) 7382 79

50) to selectively extract cupric chloride. Then, the chloride complexes. Chloride can complex and stabilize
loaded organic was stripped with water to produce a Cu(I) ions thereby increasing copper solubility although
concentrated CuCl2 solution. This solution was electro- high Cl concentrations are required to avoid CuCl
lyzed in the presence of cation-selective membrane precipitation.
producing high purity copper powders. Silver recovery Considering the high ionic concentrations in leaching
is usually a drawback in these processes (with the systems, NIST database shows 4 Cu(I)Cl complexes at
exception of the Cuprex process), as it was not easily high ionic strength (I = 5.0): CuCl 0 (log 1 = 2.7);
removed from the pregnant solution and followed CuCl2 (log 2 = 6.1); CuCl3 2 (log 3 = 6.0); Cu2Cl4 2
copper during electrowinning (Dutrizac, 1992). More (log 4 = 13.0). Conversely, only one complex is listed
recently, Outokumpu has proposed a similar process for Cu(II) with a low stability constant (CuCl+, log
where chalcopyrite leaching is performed at atmo- 1 = 0.17). Fe(III) and Fe(II) also show only one
spheric pressure with a chlorinecupric chloridebrine chlorocomplex each: Fe(III)Cl with a higher stability
solution. In this process, chlorine oxidizes Cu(I) to Cu (FeCl+ 2, log 1 = 1.3); as compared to Fe(II)Cl+ (log
(II) and copper is recovered from the purified leach 1 = 0.2, I = 0); i.e. unlike Cu(I), cupric copper and iron
solution by precipitating cuprous oxide with caustic ions do not show strong chloride complexes (Martell
soda. Then, metallic copper is produced by hydrogen and Smith, 2003).
reduction. Chlorine is regenerated using chloroalkali Despite some controversy, recent studies have
cell technology (Dreisinger, 2004). suggested that copper is monovalent in the chalcopyrite
Mixed sulphate/chloride systems are represented by structure (Boekema et al., 2004; Pearce et al., 2006). A
the Noranda process in which chalcopyrite was comprehensive discussion of copper and iron oxidation
converted to solid CuSO4Cu(OH)2 instead of cupric states in chalcopyrite is beyond the scope of the present
or cuprous ions, at 135145 C and 1370 KPa oxygen. work, but considering that copper is present in
Hematite and elemental sulphur were also produced. chalcopyrite as Cu+ 1, it would be complexed by Cl
Basic copper sulphate was then leached in a pH 2.5 during leaching. Therefore, chloride would enhance
sulphuric acid solution. Using a similar approach, the leaching by increasing copper(I) solubility as Cu(I)
CESL process uses pressure oxidation (150 C, 700 KPa complexes. Notwithstanding, the oxidizing conditions
O2, 1100 KPa total pressure) with chloride (12 g/L Cl) prevailing during leaching in the present work (presence
as a catalyst to produce CuSO4Cu(OH)2 which is of Fe(III) and oxygen) make this assumption unlikely as
leached by sulphuric acid. Gold is recovered from the the ferric chloride oxidation of cuprous ions (Eq. (7)) is
residue by cyanidation following elemental sulphur one of the key reactions during ferric chloride leaching
removal, so that cyanide consumption is reduced of chalcopyrite (Dutrizac, 1992; Winand, 1991).
(Defreyne et al., 2004).
Fe3 Cu Fe2 Cu2 DE 0 0:1 V 7
4. Discussion
In addition, Eh measurements have shown potentials
The improvement on chalcopyrite leaching by in the range 700425 mV (Ag/AgCl) during the whole
chloride ions was soon recognized. As early as 1970s, experiment of the present work which is above the rest
researches on chalcopyrite leaching had highlighted that potential of Cu(I) oxidation to Cu(II) (600 mV, versus
ferric chloride gives faster leaching kinetics than ferric SHE, at 0.1 mol/L CuCl2, 0.1 mol/L CuCl, 0.2 mol/L
sulphate (Gupta and Mukherjee, 1990; Jones and Peters, HCl, 3.0 mol/L NaCl) (Hirato et al., 1987). Regarding
1976). This improvement is credited, at least, to the the kinetics of copper(I) oxidation by Fe(III) no
following reasons: (i) formation of copper chloride information could be found, but it has been observed
complexes; (ii) increase in the anodic current during that provided enough Fe(III) is available, Cu(II) was the
chalcopyrite leaching, (iii) changes on the surface form only copper species observed during chalcopyrite
and properties of the reaction product. These aspects leaching with ferric chloride (O'Malley and Liddell,
will be discussed in light of the results of the present 1987) which suggests that Cu(I) oxidation by Fe(III) is
work. fast. Furthermore, copper(I) oxidation on the surface of
chalcopyrite in the presence of chloride ions is also fast
4.1. Copperchloride complexes (Yamakawa and Hine, 1970). Therefore Cu(I) concen-
trations in oxidizing systems should be low and would
Some authors have attributed the increase in copper not explain the high chalcopyrite dissolution in the
leaching from chalcopyrite to the formation of copper presence of chloride ions. Chloride effects are thus
80 M.F.C. Carneiro, V.A. Leo / Hydrometallurgy 87 (2007) 7382

related to the electrochemistry of leaching and surface (Hirato et al., 1987). The evidences of this phenomenon
properties as will be discussed in the next paragraphs. are the increase in the mixed potential during chalco-
pyrite oxidation with FeCl3 due to the addition of Cu(II)
4.2. Electrochemistry of chalcopyrite in the presence of ions, and the large exchange current density observed
Cl ions during copper(II) reduction (or Cu(I) oxidation) on
chalcopyrite surface (Hirato et al., 1986). Eq. (6) has
The concept that sulphide and oxides are leached by therefore been proposed as the actual reaction during
an electrochemical mechanism was proposed by Nicol chalcopyrite leaching in chloride system.
et al. (1975). Since then an electrochemical approach The change in the oxidation mechanism is likely the
has been used to study chalcopyrite (and other reason for the faster reduction on the Fe(III) concentra-
sulphides) leaching. During chalcopyrite leaching, a tion observed during leaching with NaCl in the present
parabolic kinetics is observed which is attributed to the study. This can be inferred by comparing Figs. 2 and 3.
passivation of its surface. Electrochemical studies Although part of ferric iron is precipitated as natrojar-
(anodic polarization curves and cyclic voltammetry, osite, the concentration of ferrous iron is higher in the
among other techniques) enabled the proposition that presence of NaCl than in its absence. This effect is
passivation occurs due to the formation of a surface higher for 1.0 mol/L NaCl and higher concentrations
layer that inhibits dissolution. It is agreed that iron is compared to the experiment carried out with 0.5 mol/L
leached ahead of copper, higher temperature reduces the NaCl, matching the behaviour observed for copper
passivation phenomena and impurities affect the oxida- dissolution (Fig. 1). The increase in Fe(II) concentration
tion behaviour of specific samples of chalcopyrite. would be ascribed to the fast Cu(I) oxidation (Eq. (7))
Furthermore, passivation starts after a certain potential, instead of the direct mineral oxidation which is slow due
which depends on the sample studied, usually on the to chalcopyrite passivation. The fast leaching kinetics
250450 mV (Ag/AgCl) range. Working below this observed with the Cu(II)/Cu(I) couple is attributed to a
critical potential allows the non-oxidative leaching of good overlap between the energy levels of the Cu(II)/Cu
chalcopyrite (Lazaro and Nicol, 2003). (I) couple and the conduction band of chalcopyrite while
The accepted reaction describing the formation of the energy levels of the Fe(III)/Fe(II) couple are within
this passivating layer is as follows: the chalcopyrite band gap, and the leaching kinetics is
CuFeS2 Cu1x Fe1y S2z xCu2 yFe2 zS therefore slower (Venkatachalam, 1991).
2x ye 8
4.3. Effect of chloride ion on the surface properties of
As shown in Eq. (8), the passivation layer is believed the reaction products
to be formed by Cu1xFe1yS2z or something similar
(layers of a non-stoichiometric compounds presenting Scanning electron micrographs (Fig. 5ae) show that
SS bonds (Mikhlin et al., 2004)). It has also been ferric sulphate leaching of chalcopyrite without NaCl
suggested that this layer is around 20 nm thick (Lazaro produces an adherent reaction product that follows the
and Nicol, 2003). morphology of the chalcopyrite grains. This new surface
It has been shown that chloride ions also affect the is roughened although an increase of surface area is not
electrochemical behaviour of chalcopyrite (passivation). observed. Actually, surface area is reduced compared
Currenttime curves for chalcopyrite oxidation at with that of the concentrate. This finding is consistent
constant potential show a decrease in the current passing with other works regarding chalcopyrite oxidation
through the working electrode. The initial current (Elsherief, 2002; Majima et al., 1985).
reduces with time and reaches a steady value which is Unlike the morphology of the reaction product
consistent with the passivating of the mineral surface. generated in the absence of NaCl where chalcopyrite
However, in the presence of sodium chloride this steady particle was completely coated by an amorphous or
value of current is higher than in its absence. It has been cryptocrystalline film of sulphur, Lu et al. (2000a) state
show that in the presence of 0.5 mol/L NaCl the current that a crystalline and porous sulphur layer is formed in
density is 7 times higher than in the absence of this salt the presence of NaCl. However, the authors made this
(Lu et al., 2000b). This increase may be attributed to a statement only by analysis of SEM images. In the
change in the leaching mechanism since Fe(III)/Fe(II) is present work, however, it was possible to determine the
the single redox couple in the absence of NaCl, but the surface area and porosity of leach residue in the
Cu(II)/Cu(I) couple becomes more important in the presence and absence of NaCl. Table 1 shows that
presence of chloride ions since the latter is more reactive there is a reduction of surface area and porosity after
 M.F.C. Carneiro, V.A. Leo / Hydrometallurgy 87 (2007) 7382 81

where is the fraction reacted; t is time; kSR and kD are

the apparent rate constant for either surface reaction or
diffusion control, respectively.
It can been seen that in both conditions (with and
without NaCl) the diffusion controlled model fits better
the leaching data than the chemical reaction model
(Levenspiel, 1999) as observed by other authors (Gupta
and Mukherjee, 1990; Mateos et al., 1987; Munoz et al.,
1979). Nevertheless, when only the chemical reaction
control is considered, it can be noticed that the
experiments where sodium chloride was added show a
better fit (r2 = 0.974) than those performed in its absence
(r2 = 0.634); i.e. diffusion through the reaction products
is slower in those experiments where NaCl was not
present. Furthermore, in the presence of NaCl both
equation fits (chemical reaction and diffusion controls)
are similar suggesting that a change in reaction
mechanism may be taking place.
The effects of chloride ions on chalcopyrite leaching
can be summarized as follows: chloride ions affect the
chemistry of leaching, enabling chalcopyrite dissolution
by the Cu(I)/Cu(II) redox couple which shows large
mixed potentials during leaching; and, as confirmed in the
present work, changes the morphology of the reaction
product thereby increasing copper extraction. The combi-
nation of both effects accounts for the faster leaching
kinetics of chalcopyrite in the presence of chloride ions.
Fig. 6. Plot of leaching data according to the shrinking core model
without (a) and with 1.0 mol/L NaCl (b). Conditions: T: 95 C, 5. Conclusions
d50 = 5.5 m.
An oxygenated ferric sulphatesodium chloride
leaching with ferric sulphate. As jarosite was not solution could be successfully applied to the leaching
observed in these experiments, it is suggested that an of a chalcopyrite concentrate under atmospheric pres-
elemental sulphur layer has grown, coating the surface sure and 95 C. It has been shown that NaCl has a
and reducing those parameters. In the presence of NaCl, positive effect over chalcopyrite leaching with ferric
however, the reduction in both surface area and porosity sulphate. Copper extraction increased from 45% to 91%
is less evident and the values approach those of the when NaCl is added to the reaction system. It was
concentrate. Table 1 also confirms that in the presence of confirmed by surface area and porosity measurements
NaCl, surface area and porosity of the leach residue are that chloride ions affect the morphology of the reaction
higher than those obtained without sodium chloride. product formed producing a porous and somewhat
Another evidence for these findings is present in Fig. 6, crystalline sulphur layer. The change in porosity
which depicts the shrinking core kinetic model for the facilitates reagent diffusion through the reacting product
extraction data presented in Fig. 1. The simplified layer improving the leaching kinetics.
equations of shrinking core model for either diffusion or
surface reaction controlled process are, respectively Acknowledgement
(Levenspiel, 1999):

 This work was supported by FINACIADORA DE
2 1 ESTUDOS E PROJETOS-FINEP. The Coordenao
1 a1a3 kD dt 9
3 de Aperfeioamento de Pessoal Docente, CAPES,
scholarship to M.F.C. Carneiro and the support of
h i
1 Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) are gratefully
11a3 kSR dt 10
acknowledged.
82 M.F.C. Carneiro, V.A. Leo / Hydrometallurgy 87 (2007) 7382

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