THE UNIVERSITY OF DODOMA

COLLEGE OF EARTH SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF PETROLEUM AND ENERGY ENGINEERING

BACHELOR OF SCIENCES IN CHEMICAL AND PROCESS ENGINEERING

LABORATORY REPORT 03 ON: LEACHING TECHNOLOGY

NAME OF STUDENT: BARAKA S. HENERICO

REGISTRATION NUMBER: T22-03-12977

COURSE INSTRUCTOR: Dr. SALMA

COURSE NAME: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY III

COURSE CODE: CPE 326

SUBMISSION DATE: 05TH JUNE, 2025

PLACE: COESE LABORATORY

ASSESMENT NEATNES AND LAYOUT

LAB REPORT 03

TOTAL MARKS
 ABSTRACT

The objective of this experiment/practical is to measure and investigate recovery of copper from
copper ore by evaluating the effect of reagent (H2SO4) concentration on leaching copper bearing
ore.

The experiment involved crushing and grinding the ore, sieving to a specific particle size,
preparing solutions of different sulfuric acid concentrations (0.1M, 0.2M, 0.4M, 0.6M, 0.8M,
1.0M, and 1.4M), preparing an ore pulp, and allowing 24 hours for leaching. The copper was then
filtered and analysed to determine recovery.

The recovery calculated from each sample and shown that recovery increased from 68.35% when
treated with acid of 0.1M to 96.95% when treated with acid of 1.4M concentrations.

Therefore; acid concentration was directly proportional to recovery of copper or acid concentration
has a direct effect on copper recovery.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................... i
LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................................................ iii
LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... iv
CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................. 1
1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1
CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................................ 2
2.0 THEORETICAL PARTY ...................................................................................................... 2
2.1 LEACHING CONCEPT ................................................................................................... 2
2.2 LEACHING KINETICS OF COPPER OXIDE ORE ...................................................... 3
CHAPTER THREE ......................................................................................................................... 5
3.0 EXPERIMENTAL PARTY ................................................................................................... 5
3.1 APPARATUS AND MATERIALS USED ........................................................................ 5
3.2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES ................................................................................. 5
CHAPTER FOUR ........................................................................................................................... 8
4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................................................ 8
4.1 RESULTS .......................................................................................................................... 8
4.2 GRAPH ............................................................................................................................. 9
4.3 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER FIVE........................................................................................................................... 10
5.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................ 10
5.1 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 10
5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................ 10
REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................. 11
APPENDECES ............................................................................................................................. 12
APPENDIX A: CALCULATION ............................................................................................. 12
APPENDIX B: DIAGRAM ...................................................................................................... 13

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Sample ............................................................................................................................. 6

Figure 2:Sieving machine ............................................................................................................... 6
Figure 3:Crushed and sieved sample .............................................................................................. 7
Figure 4: Leaching process ............................................................................................................. 7
Figure 5:Tail of sample obtained..................................................................................................... 7
Figure 6:Graph of recovery of copper against acid concentration .................................................. 9
Figure 7:Copper heap leach/solvent extraction/ electrowinning flowsheet .................................. 13

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 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1:Table of results ................................................................................................................... 8

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 CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Minerals found in earth in low grade. Furthermore, close related minerals have also being
associated with metal of interest. This has increased the use of hydrometallurgical extraction
methods. Its ability to treat low grade, complex, and low tonnage ore has increased its use in small,
medium, to large processing plants. Among the stages of hydrometallurgy is leaching. Leaching is
the processing of dissolving specific mineral using appropriate reagents. The thermodynamic and
kinetics of leaching are important to allow economical extraction.

Kinetics is important to optimize the time and number of factors, ranging from feed size, type and
concentration of reagents, operation temperature and pressure, and technique of leaching, governs
recovery of the process, leaching kinetic. The optimization of these parameters is necessary for
any leaching process

The other parameter considered on leaching technology is the type of mechanism or/and leaching
technique used where can be either percolation, agitation or VAT leaching and in this experiment
the mode of which it was conducted was form of VAT leaching type.

This experiment aims to evaluate the effect of reagent concentration on leaching Copper bearing
ore.

This experiment specifically focuses on the role of reagent concentration in the leaching of copper
from a copper-bearing ore. Copper is a vital metal with numerous industrial applications, and
efficient extraction methods are crucial for its sustainable supply. By evaluating the effect of
different sulfuric acid concentrations, this study aims to identify the optimal conditions for
maximizing copper recovery, thereby contributing to the development of more economical and
efficient copper extraction processes. (Davenport, W.G., King, M.J., Schlesinger, M.E. and
Biswas, A.K., 2002).

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 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 THEORETICAL PARTY

2.1 LEACHING CONCEPT
Leaching is the dissolution process of the soluble ingredient(s) contained in a solid material by a
solvent

Leaching gives rise to two fractions:

• One is the worthless material that is largely free from value minerals and is mostly destined
for dumping
• The other is the metal-laden (metal-rich) aqueous solution that is invariably advanced for
further processing

Before leaching, Ore is usually crushed and ground, sometimes beneficiated by physical methods

In some cases, treated by thermal methods, such as oxidation, reduction, roasting, etc. to render
the material more amenable to leaching or exclude undesired component. This has done in order
to enhance leaching yield and rates. Leaching is usually followed by Filtration, washing, and
solution purification.

These are essential features to have a successful leaching:

• The valuable metal must be soluble in economically usable solvent

• The metal must be economically recoverable from the solvent
• The impurities that co-extracted from the solution must be capable of further separation
from the solution

Leaching is done with a number of different leaching reagents and methods, Sulphuric acid and
cyanide are ones of the leaching reagents

Leaching can be broadly be classified into two types, namely:

• Non-oxidative leaching
• Oxidative leaching

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Various techniques are available for the dissolution of metal values from ores and concentrates.

These can be divided into two broad classes, Percolation leaching and Agitation leaching Recovery
of leaching is evaluated in leachate or solid sample remained, in solid sample remained recovery
Recovery =(H-T/H) x 100 ………………………… (1)

H is head grade and T is Solid tailing grade.

2.2 LEACHING KINETICS OF COPPER OXIDE ORE

Copper oxide dissolved by an acid to producing copper ions and water but this reaction can be
influenced by increasing rate of reaction by means of agitation, this will aid on encountering degree
of bombardment of particles as well as collision of particles in solution.

Consider the following ionic equation reaction describing the acid leaching of copper ore by using
dilute Sulphuric acid,

CuO + 2H+ = Cu2+ + H2O ………………………… (2)

The overall copper leaching can be interpreted by a shrinking core model, which includes a surface
chemical reaction and proton diffusion through the product layer. The shrinking core model
represents heterogeneous reactions between the fluid (H2SO4) and solid surface (ore particles)
(chen, yang, liu, & You-yuan, 2009).

Dissolution of copper

Leaching characteristics of copper starting with first, the occurrence of rapid Copper dissolution
in relation to freeing of copper on the surface the gradual decrease in coper dissolution takes place
but as this happens then the decomposition of high to moderate soluble silicate gangue minerals
and the reaction of the malachite wrapped inside them with the acid.

The influence of particle size towards leaching reactions has key significant for the process
whereby ore mineral particles contacted via pores this allow dissolution and as it continues enable
entry of acid into pores then contact increases.

The ore grain size was a critical factor as the mass transfer process enabled the leaching of metals
in ore and influenced the leaching kinetics. The large ore particle size (i.e., small specific surface

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area) could lead to a slow reaction at the internal pores. Thus, once the minerals near the surface
pores dissolved, they created deep micro-pores resulting in steady and slow leaching

(HAbbache, Alane, Djerad, & L, 2009)

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 CHAPTER THREE

3.0 EXPERIMENTAL PARTY

3.1 APPARATUS AND MATERIALS USED
• Copper oxide ore
• Prepared Sulphuric acid of 0.1M, 0.2M, 0.4M,0.6M, 0.8M, 1.0M and 1.4M concentrations
• Crusher and ball mill for size reduction
• Sieves
• Leaching bottles
• For studying copper concentrate in head and tail solid
• For agitation

3.2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES

a) The copper oxide ore Crushed and ground in jaw crusher and ball mill respectively
b) The samples thieved to obtain size fractions of 90% 106 microns.
c) Preparation of sulphuric acid solutions of 0.1M, 0.2M, 0.4M,0.6M, 0.8M, 1.0M and 1.4M
concentrations done.
d) Pulp of 40% solid prepared and fed to the leaching bottles
e) The leaching process allowed for 24 hrs.
f) Leached salter and analysed the copper in solid.
g) The effects of reagent concentration on copper recovery evaluated

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 Figure 1: Sample

Figure 2:Sieving machine

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Figure 3:Crushed and sieved sample

Figure 4: Leaching process

Figure 5:Tail of sample obtained

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 CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 RESULTS
H2SO4 CONC(M) Copper in residue(g) Recovery (%)

0.1 3.01 68.35

0.2 5.08 46.58

0.4 3.31 65.19

0.6 2.05 78.44

0.8 0.99 89.59

1.0 0.63 93.38

1.4 0.29 96.95

Table 1:Table of results

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4.2 GRAPH

A GRAPH OF COPPER RECOVERY (%) AGAINST ACID

CONCENTRATION (M)
120

100

80

60

40

20

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6
ACID CONCENTRATION (M)

Figure 6:Graph of recovery of copper against acid concentration

4.3 DISCUSSION
From the graph of results above, it has shown that as the concentration of acid used in leaching
increases, also the recovery of copper metal from copper oxide ore increases, therefore there is a
direct relation or effect of increasing acid concentration used in leaching process of copper ore on
recovery of copper metal.

The shape of the recovery curve (Copper Recovery vs. Concentration) would be crucial for
determining the most efficient and economical operating conditions. An ideal curve would show a
rapid increase in recovery with concentration initially, followed by a leveling off, indicating the
optimal range.

The consistent particle size (106-150 microns) and leaching time (24 hours) for all trials are
important control variables, ensuring that any observed differences in recovery can be attributed
primarily to the varying reagent concentrations.

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 CHAPTER FIVE

5.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 CONCLUSION
From the results and discussion made above, it is true that as concentration of sulphuric acid used
in leaching of copper oxide ore as increases, tailing head grade decrease showing that more copper
metal leached from copper oxide ore and hence leading to increase of copper recovery, therefore
it is true that sulphuric acid concentration used to leach copper ore is inversely related to copper
recovery and direct proportional or related to copper recovery from copper oxide bearing ore.

This experiment successfully investigated the effect of sulfuric acid concentration on copper
recovery from a copper-bearing ore through leaching. The findings are expected to confirm that
reagent concentration plays a significant role in the efficiency of the leaching process. An optimal
sulfuric acid concentration exists where maximum copper recovery is achieved, balancing the
chemical reaction kinetics with economic considerations. Understanding this optimal
concentration is vital for designing and operating efficient and cost-effective hydrometallurgical
plants for copper extraction.

5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS
In order to improve better recovery of copper other factors for leaching should be taken into
consideration as follows;

1. Increase of leaching time from 24hours to 36, 48 and 72hours to ensure much copper metal
dissolved or leached from the ore
2. Consideration of PH, this can be treated by adding lime to the ground ore to regulate pH to
favourable condition of leaching environment
3. Rate of agitation should be increased to enable mixing of reagent concentration and the ore
to be leached
4. Size reduction and distribution should be maintained to required best size for better
leaching condition.

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 REFERENCES

Chen, S. X.-l., yang, B. z., liu, X. -y., & You-yuan. (2009). Technological conditions and kinetics
of leaching copper from complex copper oxide ore. Journal of central south university of
technology, 936 - 941.

HAbbache, Alane, N. a., Djerad, N. a., & L, T. (2009). Leaching of copper oxide with different
acid solutions. Chemical Engineering Journal, 503 -508.

Wills B.A, N.-M. T. (2006). Mineral processing technology, An Introduction to the practical

Aspects of Ore Treatment and Mineral Recovery. Elsevier publisher & technology

Davenport, W.G., King, M.J., Schlesinger, M.E. and Biswas, A.K., 2002. Extractive metallurgy of
copper. Elsevier.

Schlesinger, M.E., 2019. Copper Pyrometallurgy. SME Mineral Processing & Extractive
Metallurgy Handbook. Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME), USA, pp.1655-1667.

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 APPENDECES

APPENDIX A: CALCULATION
%Recovery = ((H-T)/H) x 100

H-Head grade

T-Tailing head

Head grade at 0.0M of H2SO4 is 9.51

CuO ore (copper ore)

CALCULATION OF RECOVERY

For 0.1M, Recovery = ((9.51-3.01)/9.51) x 100 = 68.35%

For 0.2M, Recovery = ((9.51-5.08)/9.51) x 100 = 46.58%

For 0.4M, Recovery = ((9.51-3.31)/9.51) x 100 = 65.19%

For 0.6M, Recovery = ((9.51-2.05)/9.51) x 100 = 78.44%

For 0.8M, Recovery = ((9.51-0.99)/9.51) x 100 = 89.59%

For 1.0M, Recovery = ((9.51-0.63)/9.51) x 100 = 93.38%

For 1.4M, Recovery = ((9.51-0.29)/9.51) x 100 = 96.95%

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APPENDIX B: DIAGRAM

Figure 7:Copper heap leach/solvent extraction/ electrowinning flowsheet

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