Preparation of manganese sulfate from low-grade manganese carbonate ores by sulfuric acid leaching

In this study, a method for preparing pure manganese sulfate from low-grade ores with a granule mean size of 0.47 mm by direct acid leaching was developed. The effects of the types of leaching agents, sulfuric acid concentration, reaction temperature, and agitation rate on the leaching efficiency of manganese were investigated. We observed that sulfuric acid used as a leaching agent provides a similar leaching efficiency of manganese and superior selectivity against calcium compared to hydrochloric acid. The optimal leaching conditions in sulfuric acid media were determined; under the optimal conditions, the leaching efficiencies of Mn and Ca were 92.42% and 9.61%, respectively. Moreover, the kinetics of manganese leaching indicated that the leaching follows the diffusion-controlled model with an apparent activation energy of 12.28 kJ·mol^-1. The purification conditions of the leaching solution were also discussed. The results show that manganese dioxide is a suitable oxidant of ferrous ions and sodium dimethyldithiocarbamate is an effective precipitant of heavy metals. Finally, through chemical analysis and X-ray diffraction analysis, the obtained product was determined to contain 98% of MnSO₄·H₂O.