Investigation and modelling of the progression of zinc leaching from large sphalerite ore particles

X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) was used to follow the progression of Zn leaching in a number of individual sphalerite ore particles, which were subjected to a long-term simulated heap bioleaching environment. The ore was prepared by two different modes of comminution – HPGR at 90bar and cone crusher – and individual particles were selected from three different size fractions. Investigation of the reacted fraction of Zn vs distance from the centre of each particle indicated that leaching from large particles leads to near complete conversion near the surface, but only partial conversion in the zones that are closer to the centre of particles. The cores of the cone-crushed particles show hardly any conversion at all, especially in the larger particle sizes.