Scientific Research Geotechnological Center, Far Eastern Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia

V. A. Iodis, Candidate of Technical Sciences, Leading Researcher, iodisva@mail.ru
I. A. Koydan, Researcher, koydan91@mail.ru

During bacterial-chemical leaching, oxide films and contaminants on the surface of sulfide particles slow down their oxidation processes, so removing these films will improve the kinetics of the process. Ultrasonic treatment of the ore pulp is considered the optimal option for removing passivating films. This study was conducted to investigate changes in the morphology of the oxidized surface of cobalt-copper-nickel sulfide ore after ultrasonic treatment. These changes in the morphology of the oxidized surface of polished sections of sulfide ore after ultrasonic treatment confirmed that ultrasonic treatment removes oxide films and significantly alters the surface morphology, causing damage and the formation of various mechanical defects. The experiment showed that ultrasonic treatment with a volumetric intensity of less than 0,74 W/cm for a duration of less than 30 minutes on a polished section oxidized with nitric acid for 30 minutes was unable to remove oxide films from the surface of chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite. After ultrasonic treatment with an intensity of 0,41 W/cm on the surface of an oxidized polished section (15 min), passivation films were observed. Nitric acid oxidation for longer than 15 minutes results in severe oxidation of the violarite, with a deep oxidized layer, requiring longer cleaning times and higher ultrasonic intensity. Furthermore, increasing the duration and volumetric intensity of the ultrasonic treatment will cause violarite to chip off the polished section surface and precipitate in the distillate. The experiment also showed that at volumetric intensities of 0,74 W/cm and higher, pyrrhotite undergoes greater morphological changes than chalcopyrite, which can be explained by the different crystal structures of these minerals. The research results indicate that ultrasonic activation of ore pulps significantly increases the number of defects in the surface layers of the crystal lattice, and consequently, its contact area and shape. This can intensify bacterial-chemical processes and, therefore, enable the development of costeffective, environmentally friendly technologies for processing sulfide ores.

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