Leaching of zinc from low grade oxide ore using organic acid

Abstract

The leaching of low grade zinc oxide mining tailings by organic acid as a leaching agent was investigated. Zinc was extracted successfully from sample by citric acid leaching. The effects of solid-to- liquid ratio, acid concentration, reaction time, temperature and ore particle size on the leaching efficiency were studied. The results obtained showed that particle sizes and reaction time had not any significant effect on the leaching recovery of zinc from smithsonite in the sizes range of 40-350 μm. Under condi- tions: temperature of 80oC, reaction time of 60 min, citric acid concentration of 0.5 mol/L, and solid to liquid ratio of 1:10, 82% of zinc could be recovered.