Bioleaching of two different types of chalcopyrite by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

Two different types of chalcopyrite (pyritic chalcopyrite and porphyry chalcopyrite) were bioleached with Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans ATF6. The bioleaching of the pyritic chalcopyrite and porphyry chalcopyrite is quite different. The copper extraction reaches 46.96% for the pyritic chalcopyrite after 48-d leaching, but it is only 14.50% for the porphyry chalcopyrite. Proper amounts of initial ferrous ions can improve the efficiency of copper extraction for the two different types of chalcopyrite. The optimum dosage of ferrous ions for the pyritic chalcopyrite and porphyry chalcopyrite is different. The adsorption of ATF6 on the pyritic chalcopyrite and porphyry chalcopyrite was also studied in this paper. It is found that ATF6 is selectively adsorbed by the two different types of chalcopyrite; the higher adsorption onto the pyritic chalcopyrite than the porphyry chalcopyrite leads to the higher copper dissolution rate of the pyritic chalcopyrite. In addition, the zeta-potential of chalcopyrite before and after bioleaching further confirms that ATF6 is more easily adsorbed onto the pyritic chalcopyrite.