The effect of pH, solid content, water chemistry and ore mineralogy on the galvanic interactions between chalcopyrite and pyrite and steel balls

Abstract

The role of pH, solid content, water chemistry and ore mineralogy on the galvanic interactions between chalcopyrite and pyrite and low alloy steel balls were investigated in the grinding of Sarcheshmeh porphyry copper sulfide ore. All these factors strongly affect the galvanic current between the minerals and the steel during the grinding process. The galvanic current density decreased as the solution pH and percent solids increased. In addition, changing the water in the ball mill from tap to distilled water reduced the galvanic current between the minerals and the balls. Potentiodynamic polarization curves showed that pyrite and chalcopyrite demonstrated typical active-passive-transpassive anodic behavior in the grinding of copper ore. However, the nature of their transitions from the active to the passive state differed. This behavior was not seen in the grinding of pure minerals. In addition, an EDTA extraction technique was employed to quantify the amount of oxidized iron in the mill discharge. The amount of extractable iron was influenced by the same experimental factors and in the same way as the galvanic current.

Keywords

steel ball / galvanic interaction / pyrite / chalcopyrite / polarization curves

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Sarcheshmeh copper mine (Research and development division) funded by National Iranian copper Company. The authors are gratefully for the financial support of this research by the Sarcheshmeh copper mine.

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2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg