Open AccessRate controls on the oxidation of heaps of pyritic material imposed by upper temperature limits on the bacterially catalysed process
Author(s) -
Pantelis G.,
Ritchie A.I.M.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
fems microbiology reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.91
H-Index - 212
eISSN - 1574-6976
pISSN - 0168-6445
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6976.1993.tb00283.x
Subject(s) - pyrite , leaching (pedology) , limiting , mineralogy , chemistry , environmental chemistry , metallurgy , geology , environmental science , materials science , soil science , engineering , soil water , mechanical engineering
Oxidation of a fraction of the pyrite in gold‐bearing pyrite ores before leaching often increases gold recovery rates. There are a number of techniques availablc, one of which is dump oxidation. Commercial viability of such an operation requires a net oxidation of 50% or more in 1 year. This is possible in a dump provided convection is established quickly. Since convection requires temperatures in the dump to be well above ambient, a question arises as to the constraints that might be imposed by the upper temperature limit ( T kill ) of the microorganisms which catalyse the oxidation of the pyrite. Our objective is to investigate, by way of a computer model, the importance of T kill as a parameter effecting the oxidation rate and the fraction of pyrite oxidised after 1 year in dumps where the goal is to oxidise about 50% of the pyrite in a year or less.