Minerals Engineering 83 (2015) 136–148

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Minerals Engineering
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/mineng

Modeling and optimization of Carbon in leach (CIL) circuit for gold

recovery
Divyamaan Wadnerkar, Moses O. Tade, Vishnu K. Pareek, Ranjeet P. Utikar ⇑
Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6102, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Carbon in leach (CIL) is an important step in gold processing that involves simultaneous adsorption and
Received 12 June 2015 leaching. While the mechanism of leaching and adsorption are well known, the effect of different oper-
Revised 31 August 2015 ating and design parameters on the dynamics and performance of CIL circuit are not yet studied. The
Accepted 1 September 2015
focus of this paper is to study the effect of operating parameters like cyanide concentration, oxygen con-
centration and mean particle diameter on the overall efficiency of CIL circuit. A dynamic model based on
first principles is developed for the entire CIL circuit. Suitable kinetic models for both leaching and
Keywords:
adsorption are adopted from the literature. Customizable simulator is written in MATLAB to simulate
Carbon-in-Leach
Process simulation
the model. Simulation results are first validated using previously published results. The validated model
Multi-objective optimization is then used to perform sensitivity studies on different parameters that affect the gold extraction process.
Gold leaching The key parameters are optimized by conducting a multi-objective optimization study using elitist non-
dominated sorting genetic algorithm of MATLAB. The percent recovery and net profit are maximized,
while minimizing the cyanide used in the process. Four decision variables are used viz. particle diameter,
oxygen concentration, cyanide concentration and ore volume fraction in tanks. A Pareto-optimal solution
for the process parameters is provided such that all the objectives are improved to a value above which
their improvement will result in degradation of other objectives. As a result, high recovery, high profit
and low cyanide concentrations can be achieved simultaneously.
Ó 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

1. Introduction
Carbon-in-Leach (CIL) process is widely used in the mining
industry and in particular, it is an integral part of gold extraction
plant. CIL circuit is a process of continuous leaching of gold from
ore to liquid and counter-current adsorption of gold from liquid
to carbon particles in a series of tanks. The CIL process concentrates
gold from 2.5–3.5 g/t in ore to 2000 to 6000 g/t on carbon.
Although the earliest process was in South Africa in 1890, CIP/CIL
was first introduced in gold processing in 1949 at San Andreas
(Honduras) (Marsden and House, 2006). As the ore grades have
deteriorated from around 12 grams per tonne in 1950 to nearly 3
grams per tonne in the US, Canada, and Australia (Evans-
Pritchard, 2009), the performance of key process like CIL circuit
govern the overall efficiency of plant. Therefore, CIL circuit holds
the key to profitability in the gold extraction process.
The CIL process is complex as it also involves leaching and
adsorption of competing species, influence of cyanicides, oxidizing
agents and passivating agents and attrition of carbon. Fig. 1 shows
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: r.utikar@curtin.edu.au (R.P. Utikar).
a schematic of the CIL process. Slurry of crushed gold bearing ore,
and cyanide solution enters the first tank of the CIL circuit. As the
slurry passes through the circuit, gold continuously leaches in the
cyanide solution. Sufficient residence time is provided in each tank
to facilitate the leaching. Carbon particles are suspended in the
tanks to simultaneously adsorb gold from cyanide solution.
Screens are installed in each tank to prevent carbon transfer along
with the ore. The screens only allow smaller ore particles to pass
through. Fresh carbon from the elution circuit enters the last CIL
tank. Counter-current transfer of carbon particles takes place using
slurry pumps at regular intervals. The carbon in the first tank has
highest gold loading and is sent to the elution circuit for gold
removal.
For design, control and optimization of such a complex process,
computational modelling is indispensable. The results from model
are instrumental in devising strategies to fine-tune the process
parameters to achieve a higher overall efficiency of the process.
In order to develop a comprehensive phenomenological model that
can be used for in-depth-understanding of the process, suitable
kinetic equations are desired that explicitly account for the influ-
ence of operating parameters such as cyanide concentration, oxy-
gen concentration, ore particle diameter, carbon attrition rate,

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2015.09.001
0892-6875/Ó 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
 D. Wadnerkar et al. / Minerals Engineering 83 (2015) 136–148 137

Nomenclature

AAu surface area of exposed gold, m2 q+ maximum gold loading on carbon, g kg

Ac surface area per unit mass of carbon, m2 Qfs downflow stream, m3/s
Cx concentration in volume percent or weight percent Qf slurry feed stream, m3/s
CCN cyanide concentration, mg/l Qs flow rate of slurry with carbon transfer, m3/s
C O2 oxygen concentration, mg/l R particle radius, m
CAu gold concentration in liquid, g/m3 X reaction conversion, –
C
Au residual gold concentration, g/m3
Ce equilibrium gold concentration in solution, g/kg Greek letters
DCN diffusivity of cyanide, m2/s a volume fraction
DO 2 diffusivity of oxygen, m2/s c shear rate, 1/s
DP particle diameter, m el volume fraction of liquid
F Faraday’s constant, C/mol ec volume fraction of carbon
f fraction of surface covered by passivating film, – eo volume fraction of ore
kf film mass transfer coefficient v ratio of stoichiometric constants of CN to oxygen
n number of moles q density kg/m3
q gold loading on carbon, g/kg

competitive leaching, competitive adsorption, preg-robbing, etc.
While several attempts of understanding the influence of process
variables on leaching and adsorption have been made by conduct-
ing lab scale experiments, but their influence on the dynamics of
CIL circuits is yet to be quantified. Therefore, in this study an exten-
sive review of gold leaching kinetics and gold adsorption on carbon
is presented for determining an appropriate rate equation. A phe-
nomenological model is developed using leaching and adsorption
kinetic equations. The dynamic model is simulated and is used to
investigate the effects of various process parameters. Due to the
complexity of the process, the improvement of one process param-
eter while increases recovery but reduces the profit achieved.
Therefore, the model is used to optimize the process for a range
of values of process parameters, viz. ore concentration, particle
diameter, cyanide concentration, oxygen concentration, etc. using
multi-objective optimization.
2. Literature review
The aim of modelling and simulation of CIP/CIL tanks is limited
to either refining the models used for simulations or optimizing
the process using operating parameters. For improving the models
to simulate CILs, van Deventer and Ross (1991) reviewed the devel-
opments in CIP systems and concluded that preg-robbing is an
important phenomenon in the process incurring losses to the
industry. They suggested to use the flexibility of knowledge based
systems (KBS) to simulate the ill-defined and dynamic nature of
the process (Reuter et al., 1991). Rees and van Deventer (2001)
conducted batch experiments and obtained the value of reaction
constants for four different ores. In a subsequent paper (Rees and
van Deventer, 2001; Rees et al., 2001), applied these values in
the rate equations and incorporated in mass balance equations
for a series of tanks. They compared the data with the experimen-
tal data in terms of the gold concentration and quantified the effect
of preg-robbing. Coetzee and Lalloo (2005) simulated a simplified
CIP model using Microsoft ExcelÒ by assuming a linear relationship
for leaching and adsorption rates. They determined the rate con-
stants in the equations using the available plant data. The scope
of these studies is limited to quantifying leaching, adsorption or
preg-robbing rates on batch scale or plant scale.
CIP and CIL are simulated, and optimized using various operat-
ing parameters such as number of stages, carbon transfer strate-
gies, volume optimization, etc. Stange (1991) simulated the CIP
process by using Dixon model (Dixon et al., 1976) for adsorption
in an leached solution. They minimized the capital and operating
cost for different number of stages (Stange, 1991). Using the same
adsorption model, Kiranoudis et al. (1998) simulated CIP circuit
and performed economic evaluation of three basic process operat-
ing modes viz. carousel, continuous, and sequential. Schubert et al.
(1993) simulated the CIL circuit using the modified equation given

Loaded Carbon Particles

to Elution Circuit

Fresh or Reactivated
Qs* Slurry + Carbon Particles Slurry + Carbon Particles
Carbon from Elution
Qfs* Qfs*
Circuit

Slurry Slurry Slurry Tailings

Qf Qs* Qs* Qf

Fig. 1. Flow of ore slurry and carbon particles across CIL in series.
138 D. Wadnerkar et al. / Minerals Engineering 83 (2015) 136–148

by Habashi (1966) for leaching and a linear model for adsorption. 0.0025
L 280 28 S 280 28-Slow
They compared the efficiency of the process for simultaneous, con- L 280 8 S 280 8-Slow
secutive and continuous carbon transfer schemes. They also exam- L 180 28 S 180 28-Slow

Gold Concentration in Ore, [g/kg]

ined the effect of carbon attrition on dynamics of the process and 0.0020 N S 280 28-Fast
S 280 8-Fast
found its effect to be detrimental. Lima (2007) used lumped kinetic S 180 28-Fast
models dependent on cyanide concentration and concentration C 280 28
gradient between gold on ore and in liquid for leaching. For 0.0015 C 280 8
C 180 28
adsorption, they used Dixon model. They analyzed several carbon
transfer strategies to find the best recovery strategy for the plant. L - Lima
N - Nicol
They also examined reactor volume optimization, reactor network 0.0010
S - Schubert
analysis and optimal distribution of cyanide in leaching tanks C - Crudwell
(Lima and Hodouin, 2005a,b; Lima, 2006; Lima and Hodouin,
2006). 0.0005
It is clear from the above review that the influence of the process
parameters that are local to the CIL tanks, such as ore concentration,
oxygen concentration, ore particle size, etc. on the efficiency is not 0.0000
yet studied. There is still a need to simulate the process using suit- 0 5 10 15 20 25
able equations that not only can simulate the outputs of CIL, but Time, [Hours]
also provide the flexibility to identify the process parameters that Fig. 2. Time varying gold concentration in ore for different leaching rate equations.
affect the process as a whole. Particle diameter and reagent concen- (Legend: Initials of first Author [Cyanide Concentration] [Oxygen Concentration]).
tration are critical for the leaching rate kinetics. In order to increase
the recovery rate, understanding real time response to changes in
these operating parameters is essential. This will help to find an was originally fitted but have no provision for incorporating any
optimized value of those parameters for attaining the highest effi- additional parameters for varying operating conditions (Nicol
ciency achievable with the reasonable resources employed in the et al., 1984b). The rate equations from category II and III are able
CIL series. Transient simulations are carried out to understand the to render the impact of cyanide concentration and oxygen concen-
dynamic behavior of the system. The effect of various operating tration on the leaching rate (Crundwell and Godorr, 1997; Lima
parameters like cyanide concentration, oxygen concentration and and Hodouin, 2005a,b; Schubert et al., 1993). While the data of
ore particle diameter on the performance of the system is also Schubert et al. (1993) and Crundwell and Godorr (1997) are found
assessed and an optimization study is also presented for obtaining to be qualitatively similar, these equations have lesser number of
the values decision variables such as maximum profit is obtained process parameters that can be investigated when compared to
without sacrificing recovery or vice versa. the equation of Lima and Hodouin (2005a,b). However, the model
given by Lima and Hodouin (2005a,b) cannot represent the influ-
3. Leaching kinetics ence of the limiting concentration of reagents, such as oxygen
and cyanide, on the leaching rates. In this paper, the model pro-
For the current study, a leaching rate equation is desired that posed by Lima and Hodouin (2005a,b) is modified so that it
lumps minimum number of process parameters, while accurately includes maximum process parameters such as ore particle diam-
modelling the phenomenon of leaching in the CIL tanks. Currently eter, cyanide concentration, gold concentration in ore and in the
available kinetic models for gold cyanidation can be classified into liquid and oxygen concentration along with their mechanistic
three major categories. In first category (I), the empirical models influence on the leaching rate. Then this model is used for under-
are based on the analogy with first or second order equations for standing the dynamics of CIL circuits.
reaction rate. Most of these models lump the process parameters The leaching rate proposed by Lima and Hodouin (2005a,b) is
in the leaching rate constants (Brittan, 1975; Coetzee and Lalloo, given as:
2005; Nicol et al., 1984a; Wadsworth, 2000). While the constants c
rleach ¼ kðC CN Þa ðC O2 Þb ðC Au  C
Au Þ ð1Þ
in these models are fitted to the plant data and predict the leaching
rate for a given ore type with reasonable accuracy, their application This model is modified as:
in optimization of CIL process is rather limited by the lumping of
1
most of the operating parameters in constants. In second category 1 1:5v  c
rleach ¼ kDO2 þ C Au  C
Au ð2Þ
(II), the models are derived from fundamental principles that C O2 C CN
explicitly use constitutive reagents in the equation (Crundwell
and Godorr, 1997; Habashi, 1966; Schubert et al., 1993). The mod- where both k and C
Au are functions of particle diameter.
els developed in this category have explicitly incorporated the   
C
Au ¼ a 1  b exp cdore ð3Þ
effect of reagents such as cyanide and oxygen used in the leaching
process. The last category (III) includes the pseudo-empirical rate
equations that model the leaching rate while explicitly incorporat- k ¼ kAu1  kAu2 dhore ð4Þ
ing the influence of key parameters (Lima and Hodouin, 2005a,b;
Ling et al., 1996). The influence of key parameters such as cyanide where a, b, c, kAu1 , kAu2 and h are model parameters and dore is mean
consumption, mean particle diameter of ore, oxygen concentration diameter of ore particle.
and unleachable gold concentration is determined by conducting There is a significant difference in the leaching rate calculated
the experiments and finding their influence on the rate. Then the using different kinetic equations. In lieu of valid plant data, the
kinetic equation parameters are estimated from the experimental Mintek rate equation (Nicol et al., 1984a) is used as a reference.
results by minimizing the sum of squared error function between The leaching rate calculated from Lima and Hodouin (2005a,b) is
predicted and experimental gold concentration. slower compared to the Mintek rate equation (see Fig. 3). This
The leaching rates obtained from the rate equations from each deviation can be attributed to the dependence of the leaching
category is plotted in Fig. 2. The leaching rate equations from cat- kinetics parameters, especially residual gold concentration on ore
egory I show only a single line for the conditions at which the data type. The leaching rate is modified so that the predicted reaction
 D. Wadnerkar et al. / Minerals Engineering 83 (2015) 136–148
0.002 Nicol et al. (1984)
Lima et al. (2005)
Modified Leaching Rate 280 28
Modified Leaching Rate 280 8
Percent Recovery, [%]
Modified Leaching Rate 180 28
0.001
0.000
0 3 6 9
Time, [hours]
Fig. 3. Comparison of leaching rates. (Legend: Leaching Rate Reference [Cyanide
Concentration] [Oxygen Concentration]).
rate closely matches Mintek rate equation. The model constants
are determined by minimizing the sum of squared error function.
The modified residual gold concentration and k values are
given by:
 
C
Au ¼ 0:0157 1  1:49 expð0:0176dore Þ
 
k ¼ 2:26 109  38:67d2:93
ore
4. Adsorption kinetics
The gold leached in solution in CIL circuit is simultaneously
adsorbed on the activated carbon present in the tanks. For mod-
elling adsorption, several kinetics equations such as first order rate
equation, Kn model, linear isotherm, Freundlich isotherm, Lang-
muir isotherm and Dixon model are available (Brooy et al., 1986;
Dixon et al., 1976; Fleming and Nicol, 1984; Fleming et al., 1980;
Nicol et al., 1984a; Woollacott et al., 1990). The first order rate
equations and Kn models for adsorption kinetics have inherent
limitations due to their proportionality to the gold concentration
in solution (Fleming and Nicol, 1984; Nicol et al., 1984b). Conse-
quently, the adsorption on carbon will continue irrespective of
the amount of gold adsorbed on it. These models are proposed in
limited time duration experiments in which only initial phase of
adsorption are modelled and the concentration on carbon kept
on increasing. Therefore, these models are not suitable for dynamic
simulations where the gold concentration in liquid changes consid-
erably and the gold adsorbed on the carbon reaches an equilibrium
plateau value.
A model, called homogeneous surface diffusion model (HSDM),
based on intra-particle mass transfer is proposed by Jordi et al.
(1991). The adsorption is modelled by solving external film trans-
fer and internal diffusion within the particle numerically. Since,
this model is not effective near equilibrium conditions, therefore
it is modified by introducing the concept of blinding of carbon
micropores in the equation and a new diffusion coefficient
(Ahmed et al., 1992). These models are mathematically complex
introducing additional parameters to be solved for and hence
increasing numerical difficulties and practical inapplicability.
Moreover, verification of such models is also a problem due to a
large number of parameters to be compared from different sets
of experimental data.
The most commonly used models for gold adsorption on carbon
are based on the film-diffusion mass transfer between the bulk
fluid and the surface of the carbon. In these models, adsorption is
dependent on the gradient between the gold in liquid and the equi-
139
librium concentration of gold on carbon. The equilibrium gold con-
centration, Ce, is described using its relationship with the gold on
carbon as isotherms. Three isotherms are used to relate the equi-
librium gold concentration with the gold on carbon viz. linear equi-
librium isotherm (Nicol et al., 1984b), Langmuir isotherm and
Freundlich isotherm. The linear isotherm is based on the assump-
tion that equilibrium is established at the supposed homogeneous
outer surface (Nicol et al., 1984b). Langmuir adsorption isotherm is
based on the adsorption–desorption reaction rate-control step.
Dixon model is a variation of Langmuir isotherm model and is
widely used for gold adsorption due to its accuracy and simplicity
(Dixon et al., 1976; Kiranoudis et al., 1998; Stange, 1991). Fre-
undlich isotherm is described on the basis of diffusion of gold cya-
nide inside the carbon particles (Cho et al., 1979; van Deventer,
12
1986; Vegter, 1992). For gold concentrations observed in practice,
Freundlich isotherm, Langmuir isotherm and Dixon model ade-
quately describe the equilibrium isotherm and there is no signifi-
cant difference in the adsorption rate calculated using these
three models (Woollacott et al., 1990). Therefore, Langmuir iso-
therm is used for the adsorption rate kinetics in this paper.
5. Computational model
5.1. Assumptions
ð5Þ
Following assumptions are made in development of the compu-
ð6Þ tational model:
(1) The CIL tanks are treated as CSTR with perfect mixing.
(2) Bypass of the inlet feed of a tank to its outlet stream is con-
sidered negligible as the use of axial impellers generates a
non-radial flow in which the slurry flows down along the
impeller, avoiding any significant bypass.
(3) In practice, the pH in the process is always maintained
around 10. At lower pH, HCN volatilizes readily due to a rel-
atively high vapour pressure (100 kPa at 26 °C), causing a
loss of cyanide from the solution. At pH above 11, OH ion
adsorbs on gold surface and reduces leaching rate (Kondos
et al., 1995; Ling et al., 1996). Therefore, the process is
assumed to occur at a constant pH of 10.
5.2. Governing equations
Considering the assumptions stated in Section 5.1, the mass bal-
ance equations for gold in liquid, ore and carbon in CIL circuit for
each tank are written while incorporating the leaching and adsorp-
tion rate kinetics. The overall balance on a reactor i can be written
as follows:
Q fs
i ¼ Q f
þ Q s
ð7Þ
iþ1
where Qfs is the downflow stream, Qf is the slurry feed stream, Qs is
the flow rate of slurry with carbon transfer.
Eqs. (8)–(10) give the balance equations for gold in liquid phase,
in ore and on carbon are given by respectively.
dC i elðiþ1Þ elði1Þ
eli V i ¼ Q
C þ Q
C
dt elðiþ1Þ þ eoðiþ1Þ siþ1 ðiþ1Þ elði1Þ þ eoði1Þ fsi1 ði1Þ
eli
 ðQ
þ Q fs
i ÞC i þ rleach  r ads ð8Þ
eli þ eoi si
dGi eoðiþ1Þ
Mi ¼ Q
q G
dt elðiþ1Þ þ eoðiþ1Þ siþ1 o ðiþ1Þ
eoði1Þ
þ Q
q G
elði1Þ þ eoði1Þ fsi1 o ði1Þ
eoi  
 Q
þ Q fs
i qo Gi  rleach ð9Þ
eli þ eoi si
140 D. Wadnerkar et al. / Minerals Engineering 83 (2015) 136–148

dQ i ecðiþ1Þ eci rated by using Langmuir adsorption isotherm for multiple species
Wi ¼ Q
qQ  Q
q Q þ r ð10Þ
dt elðiþ1Þ þ eoðiþ1Þ siþ1 c ðiþ1Þ eli þ eoi si c i ads and the following four equations are solved simultaneously to
obtained the equilibrium concentration of the four species (for
j = Au, Ag, Cu and Ni):
5.2.1. Competitive leaching
Rate of competitive leaching of silver is determined by using the Aj C ije
Qj ¼ ð15Þ
data given by Luna and Lapidus (2000): 1 þ aCi;Au;e þ bCi;Ag;e þ cCi;Cu;e þ dCi;Ni;e
r leach;Ag ¼ kAg ðGAg Þ2 ð11Þ For solving the equations simultaneously using matrix algorithms,
the equation is re-arranged to make it in a linear form:
where kAg is a function of cyanide concentration present in the tank.
Aj C ije  aQ j C i;Au;e  bQ j C i;Ag;e  cQ j C i;Cu;e  dQ j C i;Ni;e ¼ Q j ð16Þ
kAg ¼ 9:61  106 ð1  4:25  106 ½CN  þ 1:45  106 ½CN 2 Þ ð12Þ
The data for variation of gold leaching rates in the presence of
Leaching Rate of other metals such as copper and nickel are not
other metals such as copper, silver and nickel is obtained from
available in the open literature and therefore, is taken in the same
Sayiner and Acarkan (2014). The experimental data given in the
way as given by Schubert et al. (1993):
paper is fitted to the above equation to obtain the values of
 1
kM nM 1 1:5v constants.
r leach;M ¼ þ ð13Þ
lM C O2 C CN Carbon is present in the ore in the form of organic materials or
lumped form that adsorbs the gold from the solution (Preg-
robbing). For the current study, the preg-robbing is modelled using
5.2.2. Adsorption and preg-robbing Eq. (14) with Freundlich equilibrium isotherm for equilibrium con-
The film diffusion model with Langmuir isotherm for adsorp- centration. The values of the model constants are taken from (van
tion of gold on carbon is given as: Deventer et al., 2004).
dq
1=mj
¼ Ac kf ðC  C ije Þ ð14Þ Gi;j
dt C i;j;e ¼ ð17Þ
Dj
where Ac is the surface area per unit mass of carbon, kf is the film
mass transfer coefficient, C is the concentration of gold in liquid, q
is the concentration of gold on carbon, q+ is the maximum gold 5.2.3. Carbon attrition
loading on carbon and b is fitting parameter. The attrition of carbon due to the collision with ore particles,
The adsorption of gold on carbon is influenced by the presence CIL tank wall, filter screens, etc. results in the loss of carbon and
of competitive species in the solution. The influence is incorpo- gold loaded on the carbon fines. The loss of carbon during the CIL

Table 1
Operating parameters for the simulation of CIL process.

Operating parameters Value

Flow rate of ore and slurry, Qf 0.2083 m3/s
Counter-current flow with carbon particles, Qs 0.2083 m3/s
Stages, i 1 to n, where n is 6
Volume of a tank, V 750 m3
Volume fraction of liquid, el 0.85
Carbon concentration in each tank 25 kg/m3
Oxygen concentration 28 mg/L
Initial cyanide concentration 280 mg/L
Gold concentration in liquid in fresh feed 5 g/m3
Gold concentration on ore in fresh feed 0.001 g/kg
Gold concentration on eluted carbon 0 g/kg
Constants for leaching reaction:
a 0.961 [–] b 0.228 [–]
c 2.13 [–] a 0.0357 g/m3
b 1.49 [–] c 0.0176 1/m
kAu1 0.0513 (m3/g)2.319/s kAu2 2:28  1010 (1/m)2.93
h 2.93 [–]
Constants for adsorption (Langmuir isotherm) and pregrobbing (Freundlich isotherm)
Kfj 0.00001 m/s AAu 18.5 [m3/kg]
AAg 10.68 [m3/kg] ACu 5.2197 [m3/kg]
ANi 1.526 [m3/kg] a 2.4 [m3/g]
b 1.386 [m3/g] c 0.677 [m3/g]
d 0.198 [m3/g] Dj 0.2 [m3/kg]
mj 0.1 [–]
Constants for cyanide consumption reaction
kCN1 1:69  108 m8.677/(g2.71 s) kCN2 6.4 m0.547
u 0.547 [-] g 3.71 [–]
Constant for carbon attrition
kc,fines 2:3  108 [s1]
Particle properties
Carbon particle diameter 0.0014 m
Carbon particle density 900 kg/m3
Ore particle diameter 75 lm
Ore particle density 2550 kg/m3
 D. Wadnerkar et al. / Minerals Engineering 83 (2015) 136–148
operations is also calculated. The rate of carbon attrition is calcu-
lated from the following equation given by Schubert et al. (1993):
dWi;fines
¼ kc;fines W i
dt
5.2.4. Rate of cyanide consumption
The rate of cyanide consumption is determined by the amount
of gold, silver and other metals leached in the solution. The com-
mon cyanide complexes for the metals considered are
AuðCNÞ   
2 ; AgðCNÞ2 ; CuðCNÞ2 and NiðCNÞ3 . It is assumed that, on
an average, each mole of metal will react with two moles of cya-
nide in the solution. Based on this assumption, its expression is
given as:
r CN ¼ 2ðr leach;Au þ r leach;Ag þ rleach;Cu Þ þ 4r leach;Ni
The value of the model parameters that are used in the CIL
model are given in Table 1.
6. Process optimization
The model equations for CIL process form a system of non-
linear ordinary differential equations. Optimization of such sys-
tems is often computationally intensive. Modern methods based
on genetic algorithms such as non-dominating sorting genetic
algorithm II (NSGA-II) offer accurate and computationally efficient
solution to complex multiobjective optimization problems. There-
fore, NSGA-II is used in this work for optimization of CIL process.
For the sake of brevity, the details of the algorithm is not described
here, but can be obtained from the paper of Deb et al. (2002).
The profit or loss incurred is calculated using the price of addi-
tional gold obtained by improving operating decision variables at
an operating cost. The differential income or loss (DPL) can be
determined using price of additional recovery of gold (GP), addi-
tional power consumption in milling (CM), additional capital and
operation cost of blower (CB), costs of additional cyanide (CCN)
and cost of additional adsorbent carbon (CC) by the change calcu-
lated by the following expression:
DPL ¼ GP  CM  CCN  COA þ CC
The cost of gold, cyanide, oxygen and power for size reduction
are given below:
Price of Gold: $39.83 per gram (average price of gold in a year
from Apr, 2014 to mar, 2015 (GPPL, 2015)).
Cost of Cyanide (CCN): $3.5 per kg (Duckworth, 2014).
Cost of Carbon (CC): $2.38 per kg (Duckworth, 2014).
Cost for maintaining airflow: Capital and operational cost of
maintaining the desired oxygen concentration (COA) using pump,
air compressor and pressurised CIL tank is calculated from ASPEN
Hysys and ASPEN Process Economic Analyzer. The data obtained
from the analyzer is fitted to a piecewise linear equation as a func-
tion of air requirement (AR). The equation is given as:
COA ¼ 306312OXY þ 506999
Cost of Power (CM): $0.1 per kW h as per (EIA, 2014).
Additional Power requirement of Ball Mill: Calculated using
Bond’s law and work index (Ortega-Rivas, 2011).
Power Requirement for size reduction (kW h/ton) operation
using Bond’s law is given as:


1 1
E ¼ 10EBWI pffiffiffiffiffi  pffiffiffiffiffi
x2 x1
where x1 and x2 are initial and final particle diameters respectively
in lm and EBWI is the Bond’s work index.
141
20 Deventer et al. (2004)
Present model using Nicol et al. (1984)
Present model using modified Lima et al. (2005)
Gold Loading on Carbon, [g/kg]
ð18Þ
2
0.2
ð19Þ 1 2 3 4 5 6
Tank Number., [−]
Fig. 4. Comparison with literature data.
Percent Recovery is calculated as:
 
Go eo0 Q fs  G6 eo6 Q fs  C 6 ec6 Q fs
Percent Recovery ¼  100 ð23Þ
Go eo0 Q fs
The governing differential equations are solved using variable
step Runge–Kutta solver (ODE45) in Mathworks MATLABÒ. It is
an initial value problem and these values are given in Table 1.
The model is simulated for 200 h as the results reach a pseudo-
steady state value after 100 h. The results presented are time aver-
aged values for the last 12 h of simulation. For multi-objective
optimization GAMULTIOBJ function (which implements NSGA II)
in Mathworks MATLABÒ is used.
7. Results and discussion
7.1. Comparison with the literature data
Due to lack of industrial data on the process, the simulation
results are compared to previous modelling studies of van
Deventer et al. (2004). van Deventer et al. (2004) used Mintek
ð20Þ
leaching rate in their simulations which does not consider the
effects of oxygen concentration and particle diameter. Simulations
carried out using this rate equation (Fig. 4) closely agree with
Deventer’s results. Simulations are also carried out using modified
Lima and Hodouin (2005a,b) kinetics. These simulation results
shown in Fig. 4 match with Deventer’s data.
The Carbon-in-leach process is a counter-current leaching-
adsorption process. The slurry containing ore, lime and cyanide
enters the CIL circuit from the first tank and carbon enters from
the last tank. The concentration of gold in the solution is observed
to decrease across the tanks due to the simultaneous adsorption by
the carbon particles in the tank with counter-current flow. The
counter-current flow ensures a consistent high concentration gra-
dient of gold between the carbon particles and the liquid through-
out the circuit. This results in high adsorption rates in all the tanks.
Consequently, as the carbon moves counter-currently across the
ð21Þ
circuit, the loading on the carbon increases exponentially with
maximum loading observed in the first tank (see Fig. 4). After the
first tank, the carbon is removed and is sent to the elution circuit.
Even though the gold concentration in the liquid is low, the carbon
is able to remove the remaining small quantity of gold leaving a
low residual gold concentration.
ð22Þ 7.2. Dynamic simulation of CIL in series
Simulations are carried out using a validated model with the
initial gold concentration in liquid = 5 g/m3 and initial gold loading
142 D. Wadnerkar et al. / Minerals Engineering 83 (2015) 136–148

Cyanide Concentration
(a) 100
200 mg/l
300 mg/l
400 mg/l
500 mg/l
96

Percent Recovery, [%]

600 mg/l

92

88

84
20 70 120 170 220
Particle Diameter, [μm]

Oxygen Concentration
(b) 100
8 mg/l
16 mg/l
24 mg/l
96 32 mg/l

Percent Recovery, [%]

40 mg/l

92

88

Fig. 5. Gold loading on carbon as a function of time for the six tanks of CIL circuit.
on carbon = 0 g/kg. While the ore and liquid flow is continuous
through the circuit from tank 1 to tank 6, carbon is transferred
counter-currently (from tank 6 to tank 1) in a semi batch mode.
The carbon transfer cycle is 12 h with a loading time of 30 min.
Fig. 5 shows the dynamic behavior of gold loading on carbon for
in different tanks.
For any given cycle, in any particular tank, the gold loading on
carbon increased with time. It tends to attain an equilibrium value
corresponding to the gold concentration in liquid. A reverse trend
is observed for gold on ore. As the ore and liquid flow concurrently,
the leaching rate decreases along the CIL circuit. Therefore, a lower
gold concentration in liquid is observed. Therefore, a decrease in
gold loading is observed throughout the circuit.
In general, the concentration in the initial tanks increases with
time and periodically drops down as the transfer cycle kicks in. The
loading vacillated within a band as a pseudo-steady state is
reached. In the later tanks (tanks 4, 5, and 6), the loading first
increases quickly (due to the high gradient in initial guess) and
then dampen to reach a pseudo steady state value. For the first
tank pseudo steady state is achieved within 108 h (9 cycles).
Longer time is required for the other tanks to achieve a pseudo
steady state with the sixth tank taking the longest time.
7.3. Effect of process parameters
Ore particle diameter, cyanide and oxygen concentration have
an effect on gold recovery. In order to assess their effect, dynamic
simulations are carried out. The values reported below are the time
averaged values after steady state is achieved. The results of the
simulations with respect to the influence of these process
84
20 70 120 170 220
Particle Diameter, [μm]
Fig. 6. Effect of (a) cyanide concentration and (b) oxygen concentration on gold
recovery.
parameters on the efficiency of gold recovery are discussed in
the subsections below.
7.3.1. Cyanide concentration
Cyanide concentration has a prominent effect on the efficiency
of the CIL circuit as shown in Fig. 6a. With the increase in the cya-
nide concentration, the efficiency of the CIL circuit increases. The
positive impact of cyanide on leaching is due to the proportionality
of leaching rate on cyanide concentration. For a particular particle
diameter, the recovery is seen to increase initially with an increase
in cyanide concentration. Further increase in cyanide concentra-
tion did not have any effect on recovery as a plateau is observed.
Thus, increasing the cyanide concentration over a certain limit only
result in incurring losses.
For low cyanide concentration (200 mg/l), a significant 6%
change in the percent recovery with respect to particle diameter
is observed. At the low cyanide concentration, although the per-
cent recovery is low, the effect of particle diameter is dominant
and rate is found to be more sensitive to the particle diameter. This
shows that the impact of particle diameter on the CIL process is
prominent. For the highest cyanide concentration studied
(700 mg/l), although the improvement in percent recovery is 4%
as compared to the maximum of 6%, but the recovery is also much
higher. The rate of decrease in cyanide concentration is dependent
on particle diameter. The rate of consumption of cyanide decreases
with the increase in particle diameter. Therefore, the residual cya-
nide present is higher in the case of larger particles. This gives the
reason for the change in the percent recovery that is slightly higher
 D. Wadnerkar et al. / Minerals Engineering 83 (2015) 136–148 143

for the bigger particle than that for the smaller particle for any two 100
Ore Concentration
cyanide concentrations. 0.05
Size reduction increases the surface area of particles and hence, 0.10
increases leaching. Therefore, decrease in particle diameter 96 0.20

Percent Recovery, [%]

increases leaching and so the efficiency of CIL process is increased. 0.30
The effect of particle diameter is incorporated in the model
through rate constant and the residual gold concentration. The dif-
92
ference in the percent recovery is substantial, but the curve
approaches a plateau value for higher particle diameter. That
means, the decrease in particle size highly increases the recovery
88
rate. Various size reduction operations in industry, i.e. crushing,
grinding, etc. are cost intensive, and the size reduction cost also
increases exponentially with the fineness of the particle. Similar
case applies to the cyanide concentration, where excess cyanide 84
no longer leads in significant increase in percent recovery and only 20 70 120 170 220
results in excessive operating cost. Therefore, optimization study is Particle Diameter, [μm]
necessary to obtain an appropriate value of particle diameter and
Fig. 7. Effect of ore volume fraction on gold recovery.
cyanide concentration.

7.3.2. Oxygen concentration
Oxygen is involved in the cyanidation reaction; therefore, its
availability is necessary for gold dissolution. The oxygen is incor-
porated into the leaching kinetic equation and its concentration
is assumed independent of particle diameter. That is, a constant
supply of oxygen is assumed for each CIL tank. Fig. 6b shows the
effect of oxygen concentration at different particle diameters. For
a given particle diameter, the maximum increase in the gold recov-
ery is 10% which reduces with reducing particle diameter. The
increase in recovery diminishes as the oxygen concentration is
increased beyond a certain level. Hence, similar to cyanide, excess
oxygen will not result in any significant increase in the recovery.
The oxygen is supplied as air in the CIL tanks through spargers
and the dissolved oxygen level in the CIL tanks can be maintained
by pressurizing the tanks. While the pressurized vessel needs to be
designed and manufactured in advance for higher concentration of
oxygen, it is required to ascertain that the changes are resulting in
significant increase in the percent recovery and profit. For example,
at 200 lm diameter, increasing the oxygen flow rate from 8 mg/l to
16 mg/l results in a profit of 0.17 Million Dollar per annum, while
increasing from 32 mg/l to 40 mg/l results in a loss of 0.02 Million
Dollar per annum. The losses for increasing air flow rate at lower
diameter increase as the percent recovery decreases. The price of
additional gold obtained may or may not offset the cost of supply-
ing additional air/oxygen. Therefore, this factor is also assessed in
the optimization study presented.
7.3.3. Volume fraction
The solid volume fraction inside the CIL tank is a crucial param-
eter. With the low ore concentration in the CIL tanks, the ratio of
leachate to ore increases. This results in the increased leaching rate
due to an increased driving force because of increased amount of
leachate. To understand the effect of volume fraction on the recov-
ery, the simulations are conducted for ore volume fractions ranging
increased driving force of higher difference in the leachate gold
concentration and gold in ore. On a contrary, the recovery from
gold is high at low solid volume fraction and therefore, by further
decreasing volume fraction, the driving force remains weak, as the
concentration of gold on ore is already low. Therefore, a further
improvement in the recovery is not significant.
Although decrease in ore concentration favours recovery, it
results in an increase in processing costs. The same amount of
ore will take considerably longer time to be processed. It is only
beneficial, if the decrease in the volume fraction of solids results
in a significant increase in the recovery rate. Therefore, an offset
is determined for maintaining high profit, high recovery and high
processing rate through multi-objective optimization, which is dis-
cussed later in the paper.
7.3.4. Carbon transfer interval
The frequency of carbon transfer cycle provides the information
of interval after which the carbon is transferred across the tanks. In
plants operation, the co-current flow of ore and slurry is continu-
ous through the tanks, but the carbon transfer occurs at regular
intervals. The decrease in the carbon transfer interval increases
the operating costs, as it results in more frequent transfer of carbon
and operation of pumps. The effect of carbon transfer on the
amount of gold adsorbed on the carbon is presented (Fig. 8).
The observed decrease in gold concentration on carbon in the
first tank with the increase in the carbon transfer interval is due
to the residence time that carbon particles spend in the CIL circuit.
100
Residence Time
95
Percent Recovery, [%]

from 0.05 to 0.3. When the residual concentration of gold in the ore Carbon Transfer Interval
and in the solution of the final tank are compared, there is a
decrease in the residual gold concentration at lower ore concentra- 90
tions. This decrease in residual gold or increase in percent recovery
with the decrease in the ore volume fraction is evident from Fig. 7.
In contrast, the higher ore concentration cases show a decreased 85
percent recovery due to decreased ratio of leachate to ore. The
increase in recovery for a particular particle diameter is linear
and is inversely proportional to the solid volume fraction. With
80
respect to particle diameter, the improvement in the recovery is 0 15 30 45 60
2.5% at high particle diameter (200 lm), which reduces slightly Carbon Transfer Interval or Residence Time, [hours]
by 1.5% for low particle diameter (30 lm). At higher particle diam-
eter, the percent recovery is less, which improves with the Fig. 8. Effect of carbon transfer interval and total residence time on gold recovery.
144 D. Wadnerkar et al. / Minerals Engineering 83 (2015) 136–148

With the increase in the carbon transfer interval, the residence
time of carbon also increases. The carbon present in the solution
adsorbs gold until it reaches a saturated value, beyond which the
gold in the solution cannot be adsorbed onto carbon. Therefore,
as the carbon reaches a saturated value, the gold either remains
in the liquid or gets preg-robbed back onto ore. Beyond 30 h of car-
bon transfer interval, firstly, the carbon particles are completely
saturated and after that most of the gold present in the liquid is
either preg-robbed back onto ore or passes in tailings. Although
the increase in the carbon transfer interval increases the gold
losses, but two important practical aspects are necessary to be
taken care of. First, very frequent carbon transfers may result in
additional operational costs such as pumping and frequent elution.
Secondly, the frequent carbon transfers may result in an increased
rate of fine production.
7.3.5. Residence time
Residence time is the time taken by the slurry to pass through
all six tanks. Its value provides information about the contact time
between the ore and cyanide solution. The higher is its value, the
longer will be the contact time and the more gold loading on car-
bon is achieved.
The residence time in the CIL circuit is critical for its efficiency
and therefore, it is an important operational consideration. The
effect of residence time on the efficiency is investigated by chang-
ing the flow rates of slurry. The increase in residence time showed
an exponential increase in the recovery in the initial phase as is
shown in Fig. 8. At a very low residence time, the contact time
between the ore and cyanide solution and pregnant solution and
carbon particles is very less. Under these conditions, the slurry
moves to the next tank without reaching equilibrium value. As
the residence time is increased, more contact time is available
for the ore to be leached and carbon to adsorb aurocyanide. The
reason behind the initial exponential increase is the initial expo-
nential rate of leaching and adsorption. Even with the slight
increase in the residence time, a significant increase in the gold
loading occurs, that results in an attainment of a higher percent
recovery. However, after a particular period, the residence time is
sufficient to provide enough time to reach the gold concentration
in liquid and on carbon to reach near the equilibrium value. In
the system studied in the paper, the optimal residence time is
found to be 18 h after which the improvement in recovery is less
and is lost as leached gold. By increasing the carbon concentration,
the total capacity of carbon for gold is improved and therefore, an
increased recovery is achieved. Furthermore, the gold concentra-
tion of ore in tank 6 also reduces suggesting the diminishing influ-
ence of preg-robbing.
A disadvantage that follows the increasing concentration of car-
bon in slurry is the high amount of carbon fines. The amount of
fines formed in the process is proportional to the carbon present
in the system. With 8 kg/m3 of carbon, the loss of carbon fines is
3.09 kg/h, which escalates to approximately 15 kg/h for 40 kg/m3
of carbon. This attrition of carbon results in the loss in carbon itself
as well as the adsorbed gold. The loss due to the formation of fines
can be minimized by reducing the amount of carbon by sacrificing
minor amount of gold in tailings.
For determining the amount of carbon fines production with
respect to different carbon concentration profiles, simulations are
conducted for the cases given in Table 2. In the cases L–H, L–H–L,
H–L–H and H–L, the average concentration of carbon in the tanks
is 25 kg/m3. L–H profile is detrimental to the efficiency as the gold
concentration on carbon reaches equilibrium value in the initial
stage and therefore, the gold remains unadsorbed. While the
higher carbon concentration at the end results in adsorption of
gold from the liquid, the tailings show the loss of preg-robbed gold
in ore, which is inaccessible to carbon. L–H–L proves better than L–
H as the high concentration of carbon in the intermediate tanks
adsorb the gold in liquid. However, lower concentration of carbon
in the final tanks results in unadsorbed gold in liquid. In such a
condition, H–L–H appeared better in terms of removing gold from
the liquid as well as keeping the liquid gold deficient to supress
preg-robbing. This situation is further improved by the use of H–
L profile, where the gold leached into the liquid is instantaneously
adsorbed on the high concentration of carbon present in the initial
tanks. This leaves negligible gold in solution to be preg-robbed. Out
of all these cases, the H–L case provides minimal loss with moder-
ate production of carbon fines.
% Loss Ore
25 % Loss Liquid 16
Carbon Fines Production

Carbon Fines Production, [kg/hr]

14
than 0.001%. In different gold mining industries, its value lies 20
between 12 h and 20 h. 12
Percent Loss, [%]

7.3.6. Carbon concentration 15

10
Carbon concentration in the CIL tanks can influence the effi-
ciency of a CIL tanks. Particularly for the preg-robbing ores, where 8
10
the leached gold has a tendency to be adsorbed back into ore from
6
the liquid. The carbon present in the slurry can simultaneously
adsorb the gold from the solution, hence reduce the driving force 5
4
for preg-robbing, and limit the process. To assess the influence of
the carbon concentration on the recovery, the carbon concentra- 0 2
tion in liquid is varied between 8 and 40 kg/m3 (see Fig. 9). A 8 16 24 32 40 L-H L-H-LH-L-H H-L
low recovery at low concentration of carbon in the slurry suggests Carbon Concentration, [kg/m 3 ]
that the small amount of carbon reaches a saturation value for
adsorbed gold. Therefore, most of the gold remains unadsorbed Fig. 9. Effect of carbon concentration on gold recovery.

Table 2
Details of cases simulated using different carbon loading profiles.

Case name Carbon profile Case name Carbon profile Case name Carbon profile
8 [8 8 8 8 8 8] 32 [32 32 32 32 32 32] L–H–L [10 25 40 40 25 10]
16 [16 16 16 16 16 16] 40 [40 40 40 40 40 40] H–L–H [40 25 10 10 25 40]
24 [24 24 24 24 24 24] L–H [10 16 22 28 34 40] H–L [40 34 28 22 16 10]
 D. Wadnerkar et al. / Minerals Engineering 83 (2015) 136–148 145

(a)
1500
All Data
Pareto Front
750

DPL, [$/hr]
0

-750

-1500
75 80 85 90 95 100
Percent Recovery, [%]

1500 All Data (b) 1500 All Data (c)

Low Dp High [O2 ]
750
DPL, [$/hr]

750

DPL, [$/hr]
High dp Low [O2 ]
0 0

-750 -750

-1500 -1500
75 80 85 90 95 100 75 80 85 90 95 100
Percent Recovery, [%] Percent Recovery, [%]

1500 All Data (d) 1500 All Data (e)

High [CN] High εore
750
DPL, [$/hr]

Low [CN] 750

DPL, [$/hr]

Low εore
0 0

-750 -750

-1500 -1500
75 80 85 90 95 100 75 80 85 90 95 100
Percent Recovery, [%] Percent Recovery, [%]

Fig. 10. Multiobjective optimization results DPL versus percent recovery for values of (a) Pareto front, (b) particle diameter, (c) oxygen concentration, (d) cyanide
concentration and (e) ore concentration.

7.4. Optimization of CIL process The DPL and percent recovery values both the extremes of par-
ticle diameter, cyanide concentration, oxygen concentration and
As is evident from the parametric study, the percent recovery is ore volume fraction are also plotted in Fig. 10b–e. All the cases in
maximized by a low particle diameter, higher cyanide concentra- the Pareto front have low particle diameter (30 lm). Although a
tion, high oxygen concentration, etc. However, it may incur costs lower diameter is beneficial in majority of cases, a couple of cases
that might possibly be higher than the price of gold extracted. are also seen that show very less recovery and DPL. In these cases,
Although, a higher differential income as well as a higher recovery the values of other decision variables are low, that reduces the gold
is desired, but attaining both simultaneously is not always possi- recovery. In such a scenario, the cost of size reduction is approxi-
ble. A genetic algorithms based multiobjective optimization mately equal or greater than the profit from additional gold recov-
method (NSGA-II) is used to achieve these two objectives. Opti- ered. On a contrary, while a high particle diameter means lesser
mization is done using particle diameter, oxygen concentration, cost for size reduction, a high particle diameter results in signifi-
cyanide concentration, carbon concentration and ore volume frac- cant amount of losses of gold in tailings incurring losses. Oxygen
tion as decision variables with reference values of 200 lm, 8 mg/l, concentration and ore concentration show very similar influence
100 mg/l, 5 kg/m3 and 0.05, respectively. The value of these vari- on percent recovery and DPL (see Fig. 10c and d). In both of these
ables is limited within a range of 30–200 lm, 8–40 mg/l, 100– cases, high concentration is detrimental to profit as well as recov-
700 mg/l and 0.05–0.25 respectively. The carbon concentration ery, which also confirms that the limiting concentration of one of
profile used for the optimization is that of H-L case. the reagents has limited the recovery in these cases. Higher con-
centrations of these reagents in combination with the appropriate
7.4.1. Percent recovery and DPL concentration of other reagents can provide a high recovery rate,
Fig. 10 shows the results of multi-objective optimization using but the cost of maximizing both the reagents is not economical,
particle diameter, oxygen concentration, cyanide concentration and in certain cases lead to losses. Therefore, the lowest concentra-
and ore volume fraction as decision variables. A total of 20,000 tion of either cyanide or oxygen reduces the leaching rate, and also
datasets are tested to reach an optimal solution. The optimal set limits the positive influence of the other reagent. Hence, the DPL
of decision variables that satisfies both the objectives is shown observed in such cases are either near or below zero.
by the Pareto front in Fig. 10a. The extreme values of the Pareto For the two extreme values of ore concentration, the points
front lie either in maximum recovery or in maximum DPL. The obtained on the graph are quite isolated. While the high ore
intermediate values satisfy both the conditions to maximum possi- concentration results in maximum DPL in majority of cases, a
ble extent. low ore concentration results in obtaining maximum recovery.
146 D. Wadnerkar et al. / Minerals Engineering 83 (2015) 136–148
However, the value of DPL for these cases drops below zero, as the
cost of oxygen, cyanide and reduced particle diameter surpass the
gain from additional recovery by reducing the ore concentration.
While it is also known from Fig. 7 that the higher ore concentration
is detrimental for recovery, intermediate ore fraction combined
with appropriate values of other process variable can provide high
recovery and profit simultaneously. For the optimal values, a low
particle diameter (50 lm), oxygen concentration of 17 mg/l, cya-
nide concentration of 273 mg/l, and ore concentration of 0.25 is
required. The desired value range as obtained from the Pareto front
for high recovery and profit for particle diameter, oxygen concen-
tration, cyanide concentration and ore concentration is 50 lm, 15–
21 mg/l, 260–280 mg/l and 0.05–0.35, respectively.
7.4.2. Percent recovery, DPL and cyanide concentration
As suggested earlier, although high cyanide concentration is
beneficial for the high recovery, but its high concentration in tail-
ings can lead to hazards to humans and environment (Logsdon
et al., 1999). Therefore, regulatory authorities have strict norms that
control the destruction and release of cyanide in the tailings. Once
used, destruction of cyanide may cost above $2 per kg of cyanide,
which is more than 50% of the cost of accruing cyanide (Fleming,
2010). In the cyanide management, minimizing cyanide, by con-
serving the total amount of cyanide used and consumed in the pro-
cess, is envisaged as a solution to manage risks associated with
cyanide. In this direction, a second optimization study is conducted;
with minimizing cyanide used in the process as a third objective
function. Therefore, the profit and percent recovery are to be max-
imized while minimizing the cyanide being used in the process.
Fig. 11a shows the results of optimization with the values of
high recovery, high profit and low cyanide concentrations achiev-
able. Results from the three functions lie in different regions and
a trade-off is required such that neither of the objective functions
is degraded in the process of improving values of other objectives.
In such a scenario, the multi-objective optimization is able to pro-
vide an optimal solution as Pareto front. The low cyanide concen-
trations ideally desired and the Pareto-optimal values are shown in
Fig. 11. It is worth noticing that the data points for both highest
All Data Low [CN]
(a)
1500
750
DPL, [$/hr]
0 400
-750
-1500
80 85 90
Percent Recovery, [%]
1500
750
DPL., [$/hr]
-750
-1500
100
Fig. 11. Multiobjective optimization results of low cyanide concentration, high recovery, high profit and Pareto front shown as (a) Percent recovery v/s DPL, (b) Percent
recovery v/s cyanide concentration and (c) Cyanide concentration v/s DPL.
profit and high recovery are located on distant positions on the
three graphs. This suggests that, while both conditions are not
simultaneously possible due to losses incurred for achieving high
recovery or lesser recovery obtained by avoiding the cost of main-
taining additional cyanide. For the lowest cyanide concentration,
the maximum recovery achieved is 99.6% and the profit achieved
is approximately 20% of the maximum achievable profit. For an
optimal solution with high profit, gold recovery can be sacrificed
while maintaining a low cyanide concentration, which can be
obtained by Pareto front. At Pareto front, maximum DPL and max-
imum percent recovery are achievable by increasing the cyanide
concentration to 300 mg/l and 360 mg/l, respectively. While both
these events are mutually exclusive, an intersection point between
the minimum cyanide concentration and the Pareto front can be
identified in Fig. 11 that can possibly provide an optimal solution.
At this point, the profits can be increased at least two folds by sac-
rificing recovery of gold and by maintaining low cyanide concen-
tration. The value of particle diameter, oxygen concentration and
ore concentration at this point are 51 lm, 8.5 mg/l and 0.1, respec-
tively. The values of Pareto front most suitable for achieving high
recovery, high DPL and low cyanide concentration are tabulated
in Table 3.
7.4.3. Sensitivity to price fluctuations
The prices of gold, power, reagents, etc. are subject to change
based on the market behavior. In the last one year, the price of gold
has varied between $43 and $37 per gram, which is a reduction of
more than 10%. Such fluctuations will have a direct impact on the
DPL of the process. The sensitivity of DPL with the fluctuation in
the prices will help in assessing the reliability of a value of DPL
for a certain set of conditions over a period of time. For this pur-
pose, the prices of each decision and output variables are varied
in a range of 20% to 20% and its impact on DPL for a randomly
selected case and Pareto-optimal case is plotted in Fig. 12. In the
following discussion, all the $ values are per hour basis. For the
random case, the values of particle diameter, oxygen concentra-
tion, cyanide concentration and ore concentration are 55.20 lm,
14.50 mg/l, 267.00 mg/l and 0.068, respectively. It is to be noted
High Recovery High Profit Pareto Front
(b)
700
550
[CN], mg/l
250
100
95 100 80 85 90 95 100
Percent Recovery, [%]
(c)
250 400 550 700
[CN], mg/l
 D. Wadnerkar et al. / Minerals Engineering 83 (2015) 136–148 147

Table 3
Details of key variables at Pareto front.

Ore particle diameter (lm) Oxygen concentration (mg/l) Cyanide concentration (mg/l) Ore concentration (–) Percent recovery (%) DPL ($/h)
50.46 15.46 261.40 0.79 97.05 844.69
50.57 19.70 275.67 0.79 97.47 717.24
50.97 8.50 200.00 0.90 98.50 504.41
50.75 10.89 204.44 0.92 99.11 341.62
51.01 10.25 201.85 0.95 99.64 223.31
50.87 11.33 248.66 0.95 99.70 63.41

GP CM CCN COA CC

Random Case Pareto-optimal Solution

900 900

DPL, [$/hr]
600 600
DPL, [$/hr]

300 300

0 0

-300 -300
-20 -10 0 10 20 -20 -10 0 10 20
Change in Cost/Price, [%] Change in Cost/Price, [%]

Fig. 12. Sensitivity of DPL on gold price, cost of milling, cost of blower, cost of cyanide and cost of carbon.

that DPL is not the overall profit from the process, but it is the addi-
tional profit gained by a small change in the operating conditions
from a reference value. The sensitivity of DPL is proportional to
the current value of that parameter (see Fig. 12). As the base differ-
ential profit from gold in this is $570, therefore, DPL is very sensi-
tive to the values of gold as it shows the maximum variation range
between $170 and $170. Similar is the case with oxygen, where
its base differential cost is $227 and the value of DPL varies
between $67 and $67. The sensitivity reduces in the same order
with decreasing differential base cost of cyanide, cost of milling
and cost of carbon. Therefore, a choice of conditions in which the
value of DPL is low has significant risks as decreasing in the GP
or increase of costs of reagents or utilities will incur loss. Since gold
is desired in a high quantity, its sensitivity cannot be curtailed by
decreasing the amount of gold produced. But the sensitivity to
other variables can be reduced by selecting a set that have nominal
values and still provides high recovery and DPL. Pareto front pro-
vides such a case with values of particle diameter, oxygen concen-
tration, cyanide concentration and ore concentration are 51 lm,
8.5 mg/l, 200 mg/l and 0.10, respectively. For this case, the maxi-
mum deviation in DPL for the decision variables is $228 compared
to a base case DPL value of $504. While the variation in gold price is
significant due to high DPL as result of high gold recovery, for a 20%
decrease in gold price, the DPL reaches a value above $300 (profit
per hour), which accumulates to a significant value of approxi-
mately $2.5 million additional profit per annum.
8. Conclusion
A review is presented for the leaching and adsorption kinetics of
gold extraction process in a CIL circuit. The appropriate kinetic
equations for modelling and simulation of CIL tanks in MATLAB
are selected from the review. A dynamic model of the CIL circuit
is developed and used to study the variation in gold concentration
in the liquid and on carbon with time. The model for cyanidation
and adsorption rates containing the maximum of critical process
parameters is used for the phenomenological modelling of CIL cir-
cuit. The parameters of leaching rate is modified to make the rate
equivalent to Mintek rate. The results obtained by the model are
compared with existing literature and are found to be in close
agreement.
The particle size, oxygen concentration and cyanide concentra-
tion are critical for the gold leaching. Decrease in the particle size
and an increase in oxygen and cyanide concentration resulted in an
increase in the efficiency of the process. However, the improve-
ment in efficiency is limited in the case of oxygen concentration
due to the low concentration of cyanide or vice versa. It is neces-
sary to obtain an optimized value of particle size, oxygen concen-
tration and cyanide concentration with respect to the cost
associated with it in order to save the running costs and obtaining
higher efficiency of the process. The maximum values of oxygen
concentration and cyanide concentration did not show significant
improvement on the efficiency. The current study shows that the
increase in the recovery with the increase in residence time that
approaches plateau after 15 h. The increased carbon transfer inter-
val increases the residence time of carbon making it saturated with
gold and hence reducing the recovery due to losses in tailings. A
decreasing carbon concentration profile is found the best for min-
imizing the fines and maximizing recovery.
Multi-objective optimization study using NSGA-II is conducted
for decision variables viz. particle diameter, cyanide concentration,
oxygen concentration, ore concentration and carbon concentration
in tanks. The impact of oxygen and carbon concentration is found
to be negligible. Cyanide, oxygen, ore and carbon are instrumental
in maximizing the recovery and profit. Maintaining high cyanide
and oxygen concentration resulted in losses and therefore a mod-
erate concentration of either of these is required. High cyanide
concentration has detrimental effect on health and environment
and therefore, another optimization study for minimizing cyanide
usage is conducted. A high profit and high recovery can be
achieved while maintaining a moderate concentration of cyanide.
A set of values is suggested to run a plant at high recovery, high
DPL and low cyanide concentration. The solution results are also
tested for the fluctuations in market prices and are found to be
profitable over a fluctuation range of ±20%.
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