中国有色金属学报(英文版)
Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China
| Vol. 24 No. 11 November 2014 |
（1. Laboratory for Bioleaching and Solvent Extraction, Mining and Metallurgy Institute Bor, Bor 19210, Serbia
2. Technical Faculty in Bor, University of Belgrade, Bor 19210, Serbia）
Abstract:Bioleaching of low-grade complex Cu-Zn-Pb-Fe-Ag-Au sulphide concentrate (of Majdanpek ore body, RTB Bor, Serbia) was carried out in an aerated bioleach reactor in the presence of mesophilic mixed bacterial culture of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans, and Leptospirillum ferrooxidans. A mesophilic acidophiles culture was isolated from the acidic solution of the underground copper mine of Bor, Serbia. The nutrient medium was 9K at pH 1.6. 87% of the particles were <10 μm in size, with a pulp density of 8% (w/v). Bioleaching efficiencies of 89% for zinc, 83% for copper, and 68% for iron can be achieved in the examined conditions. Kinetic analysis shows that the change in leaching corresponds to the Spencer-Topley kinetic model for diffusion-controlled topochemical reactions.
Key words: bioleaching; polymetallic sulphide concentrate; mesophiles; Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans
