REACTIVITY OF SULFIDE MINERAL SURFACES

Abstract

As noted elsewhere in this volume, research on sulfide mineral surfaces and surface reactivity is a relatively recent concern of mineralogists and geochemists, partly prompted by the availability of new imaging and spectroscopic methods, powerful computers and new computer algorithms. There has been a significantly longer history of sulfide mineral surface research associated with technologists working with, or within, the mining industry. Here, electrochemical methods, sometimes combined with analytical and spectroscopic techniques, have been used to probe surface chemistry. The motivation for this work has been to gain a better understanding of the controls of leaching reactions used to dissolve out metals from ores, or to understand the chemistry of the froth flotation systems used in concentrating the valuable (usually sulfide) minerals prior to metal extraction.