Study on the Leaching Behavior of Galena Concentrate in Fluosilicic Acid Solution using Hydrogen Peroxide as Oxidant

Lead (Pb) extraction from galena through leaching has not been commercialized in Indonesia. Therefore, the study of leaching behavior of Bogor galena concentrate in fluosilicic acid (H2SiF6) solution with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as oxidant was studied. The study was focused to investigate the effect of dissolution parameters such as temperature, stirring speed, solid percentage, acid concentration and particle sizes of the feed. The added oxidant (H2O2) was kept constant at 9.80 M. The result of Pb extraction percentage without oxidant addition was only 58.28% while by using oxidant in the leaching process, Pb extraction as high as 99.26% was achieved when conducted at 97 degrees C in 2.25 hours (135 minutes) using -100+150 mesh of concentrate in 3.44 M of H2SiF6 with 12% of solid percentage.