New Method of Rich Oxidized Zinc Ore Sulfuric Acid Leaching

Shaimerden oxidized zinc ore containing more than 21% wt.% zinc is studied in this work. When the first research on hydrometallurgical processing of this ore was conducted the authors of this research determined the following parameters for ore leaching: the size of ore reduction, sulfuric acid concentration, temperature, and leaching duration. These tests serve as a basis for zinc recovery from the given ore with a size of – 2.5 mm and a regime is recommended providing zinc recovery into solution at the level 93.5%. However, the production regime proposed for sulfuric-acid leaching of this zinc ore requires further development as this process is characterized by inadequate production, high energy consumption for heating leaching pulp, and considerable sulfuric acid consumption. In order to avoid these disadvantages the authors develop a production regime of four-stage sulfuric-acid leaching of Shaimerden ore – 1.0 mm in size. The regime developed in this article provides zinc recovery from ore into solution at the level 94.65% compared with the regime of sulfuric-acid leaching developed previously. At the same time, consumption of sulfuric acid for leaching is reduced by 22%, the leaching period is six times shorter, and energy consumed for heating leaching pulp is lower by approximately a factor of three.