Kinetic modeling for the bacterial leaching of chalcopyrite catalyzed by silver ions

The mechanism of bacterial leaching of chalcopyrite catalyzed by silver ions is studied in this paper. The copper and iron ions in the chalcopyrite crystal lattice are replaced by the silver ions, the silver ions then combining with the sulfur to form silver sulfide. The ferrous ions are oxidized to ferric ions by the thiobacillus ferrooxidans. The ferric ions can convert the silver sulfide into silver ions. Using this mechanism, a new kinetic model of bacterial leaching of chalcopyrite in the presence of silver ions was established. The model accurately predicts the copper recovery rate in the bacterial leaching of chalcopyrite in the presence of silver ions.