M. Tech. Metallurgical Engineering. / Investigate the dissolution behaviour of sphalerite minerals in sulphuric acid using ferric ions as oxidants. The specific objectives are to study the following: 1. the mineralogical characteristics of sphalerite ores ; 2. mineralogical effects on dissolution kinetics in sulphuric acid and 3. Effect of ferric ion concentration on the dissolution kinetics of sphalerite ores in sulphuric acid. Mineralogy is a critical area in mineral processing and has to be considered during process design stage, and during each processing stage. The type and concentration of oxidizing agent depend on the mineralogical composition of the ore. Many researchers investigations and test-works have been reported on leaching of sphalerite using both ferric sulphate and ferric chloride (Al-Harahsheh and Kingman, 2007; Rath et al., 1981). However, little or no studies have been reported on the combined oxidants.