Direct leaching of lead and zinc sulphide ores

This paper deals with the direct leaching of lead and zinc employing ferric chloride and sulphuric acid as the lixiviants. The experimental results reveal that dissolution rates of lead, zinc and iron possess a remarkable difference with respect to time, temperature and concentration of the lixiviant. It has been observed that the recovery of over 90% of lead in solution after 3 h of leaching against 55% and 20% zinc and iron using 0.15 M ferric chloride is also possible. The study employing a combined leaching flotation technique using sulphuric acid as the lixiviant shows that preferential dissolution of one mineral from the other could be imparted.