Enrichment of lead from oxidized zinc-lead ore by flotation and earning of zinc by hydrometalurgic processes

In this study, firstly, enrichment of lead minerals by flotation from complex oxidized lead-zinc ore in Görgü (Malatya) region was investigated. In the study, the effects of the types and amounts of chemicals used in flotation (collector, activator, dispersants, depresant, foamer, pH adjuster) on the flotation efficiency were examined and the chemicals that gave the best results were determined. With the flotation studies, 38.5% Pb concentrate was obtained with 70.57% efficiency. Residue with high zinc content after lead flotation was leached with H2SO4. In these leaching experiments, the effects of leaching temperature, acid concentration and leaching times on solubilization were investigated. Parameters such as mixing speed, grain size, solid/liquid ratio were kept constant. In these leaching experiments, 93.5% of the zinc in the residue was dissolved at 1 M H2SO4 concentration, 1 hour leaching time and 50 °C leaching temperature. In order to remove the impurities in the solution obtained after the leaching process, iron was first precipitated with NaOH. After removing the iron, solvent extraction method was applied to clean it from other dissolved impurities in the solution. At this stage, firstly, loading was carried out with an organic D2EHPA extractant, which is selective for zinc ions. Then, the zinc ions loaded on D2EHPA were taken back to the aqueous phase by stripping with H2SO4. In the solvent extraction experiments, on the other hand, 95.3% of the zinc in the solution was loaded into D2EHPA with a stirring speed of 500 rpm, a loading time of 10 minutes, a ratio of 1/1 O/A, and a ratio of 1/9 D/K. The stripping process made from D2EHPA was carried out with 96.83% efficiency with 625 rpm mixing speed, O/A: 1/1, 10 minutes mixing time, 10 minutes stripping time, 0.5 M H2SO4 concentration. As a final step, it is aimed to obtain zinc metal from this purified solution by electrowinning. As a result of the electrowinning experiments carried out for this purpose, 97.98% of the zinc ions in the solution were recovered as zinc metal after 12 hours at a cell temperature of 30° C, a current density of 550 A/m2 (3.9 volts). KEYWORDS: Pb-Zn ore, flotation, leaching, solvent extraction, electrowinning.