Effects of mechanical activation on chalcopyrite leaching kinetics

The effects of mechanical activation on chalcopyrite leaching and its kinetics were investigated in this study.The microstructure and particle size of chalcopyrite were modified via mechanical activation.Specifically, the integrity of chalcopyrite crystal grains was disrupted and the grain size was refined.In addition, its reactivity was increased due to the decreased activation energy from 29.27 kJ/mol to 16.87 kJ/mol after 1hour’s mechanical activation, which was further decreased to 12.31 kJ/mol when chalcopyrite was ground in the presence of oxidant (NaClO₂).In addition, chalcopyrite leaching reaction was transformed from chemical reaction to diffusion reaction.