Can sulfide minerals oxidize water to hydrogen peroxide during grinding in the absence of dissolved oxygen?

Minerals & Metallurgical Processing , 2015, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 59-61

Buckley, A.N.; Woods, R.

The formation of hydrogen peroxide from water during the grinding of chalcopyrite in a nitrogen-sparged environment, as reported by Javadi Nooshabadi and Rao (Minerals & Metallurgical Processing, 2013, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 212-219), is questioned on the grounds that oxidation of water by the mineral is unlikely to be thermodynamically feasible. It is argued that it is more likely that any peroxide that had been formed would have been generated from residual oxygen in the nitrogen-flushed system than from the oxidation of water.