While bioleaching is a proven technology for the efficient recovery of base metals from sulphide minerals, its sustenance is dependent on the continuous availability of ferric ion, Fe3+, in soluble form, in bioleach liquor. However, the solubility of ferric ion is low at higher pH thus resulting in the formation of various types of ferric ion precipitates, which decreases leaching efficiency by trapping the leached metals in solution through an adsorption. The effect of initial solution pH on the surface properties of ferric ion precipitates was investigated with a view to establish a relationship between operational pH and surface charge on precipitate and to relate this to the precipitates metal adsorption properties. Ferric ion precipitates recovered from a typical biooxidation process were characterized by XRD, SEM, PSD and zeta potential. Potassium-hydronium jarosite were the main phases identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. The SEM results revealed that the precipitates had smooth surfaces with development of sharp edges on the precipitates formed at high pH. The precipitates formed at higher pH had less positive charge and scavenged more copper ions due to the high electrostatic attraction forces. The results from this study revealed that surface charge on a precipitate can give an indication of its metal adsorption capacity and that in order to prevent metal loss and improve extraction efficiency, solution conditions should be maintained such that the resulting precipitates have high positive surface charge to promote high electrostatic repulsion forces.
