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PROCESSING OF GOLD-BEARING SAND DUMPS: A CASE STUDY IN

ZIMBABWE

Conference Paper · October 2017

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Nkosikhona Hlabangana Gwiranai Danha

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Identifying opportunities for increasing the milling efficiency of a Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) Upper Group (UG)2 ore View project

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PROCESSING OF GOLD-BEARING SAND

DUMPS: A CASE STUDY IN ZIMBABWE
1.
N. HLABANGANA, *.G. DANHA, 2.C. BHONDAYI, 1.N. G MGUNI, 2.D.
HILDEBRANDT
1.
Department of Chemical Engineering, National University of Science and
Technology, P.O Box AC 939 Ascot Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
2.
Department of Civil and Chemical Engineering, University of South Africa, Private
Bag X6, Johannesburg, South Africa.
.
* Department of Chemical, Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, College of
Engineering and Technology, Botswana International University of Science and
Technology, Plot 10071 Boseja Ward, Private Bag 16 Palapye, Botswana.
danhag@biust.ac.bw
Tel: 0026777895286

SUMMARY: In this article, we investigate the possibility of reprocessing gold bearing gold
dumps for gold as a sustainable way of reviving the mining sector in Zimbabwe. Heap or vat
leaching is a process that has been extensively used for the recovery of valuable metals like
copper, gold (Au) and silver. The ore is prepared for vat leaching by either crushing or milling
it into fine and deslimed material. It is then placed into a container (vat), which has a partial
filter floor. Cyanide solution can then be injected either through the filter section of the floor
or added to the top of the ore charge.

1. INTRODUCTION

The Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) is looking for millions of dollars to
revive its mining operations. A number of mines, especially gold mines in the country have
been declared insolvent and require a lot of capital to resume their mining operations. The
closures of these mines has resulted in socio-economic challenges to the workers as well as
their families. The small mining towns of Zvishavane (Sabi gold Mine), Silobela (Jena gold
Mine), Chegutu (Elvington gold Mine) and Gwanda (Freda gold mine) have virtually turned
into ghost towns due to the shut down in operations. This entire decline in productivity over
the years has been attributed to a number of factors e.g. lack of investors, lack of funds for
surveying and exploration, lack of working capital, worn out equipment and load shedding by
the Zimbabwe Electricity supply Authority (ZESA).
Although the main strategy for ZMDC has been to look for investors, a more viable option
might be to focus on the processing of mining waste (sand dumps). The aim being to
recover some gold in order to create adequate cash flows to fund their main mining

Proceedings Sardinia 2017 / Sixteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium/ 2 - 6 October
2017 S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy / © 2017 by CISA Publisher, Italy
Sardinia 2017 / Sixteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium / 2 - 6 October 2017

operations such as underground mining, surface metallurgical processing among other
activities.
The waste material (gold bearing sand) which is of a good grade resulting from the old
processing techniques, was deposited in many gold mines in Zimbabwe during their
operation. Nonetheless, this material has become economically viable to process due to
enhanced treatment methods and a good selling price for gold. Our proposed solution will
not only take care of the landfill problem and make more land available for resettlement
purposes but will also assist as a possible sustainable revival strategy for these mines.

2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Heap or vat leaching is a process that has been extensively used for the recovery of
valuable metals like copper, gold and silver. The process is simple and eliminates any
complex steps needed during the traditional leaching process. During heap/vat leaching, a
crushed or milled ore is placed on an impervious lead pad or concrete tank. A dilute solution
of an acid lixiviant is then introduced through sprinklers or by irrigation on top. As the
solution percolates through the ore, it dissolves the value material and separates it from the
gangue. The value material bearing solution is then drained and collected in a pond or
pumped to a downstream treatment process.

Vat or heap leaching can best be described as leaching in a bathtub inside a building.
Treatment of ore is site-specific as determined by metallurgical tests.

Bench scale metallurgical testing of ores for their amenability to vat leaching is similar to that
for heap leaching. First, bottle-roll tests of finely ground material are run to determine the
ultimate recovery of gold, and for any preg-robbing characteristics of the ore. Next, leaching
tests in columns are conducted for the same variables as for heap leaching. These include
size of material, solution strength, agglomeration, and time of leach. For vat leaching,
additional tests on flow rate, applicability of soaking cycles, and direction of flow are made to
determine the optimum set of conditions.

The ore is prepared for vat leaching either as a finely crushed or a coarsely milled and
deslimed material. It is then placed into a container (vat), which has a partial filter floor.
Cyanide solution can then be injected either through the filter section of the floor or added to
the top of the ore charge. After passing through the ore, the solution is drawn off through the
floor. It can either be cycled back through the vat, or taken for gold recovery.

The process options for the retreatment of gold bearing material from dumps and have been
identified and compared as follows:
1. Initial grinding the material into smaller particles and the leaching the material in
agitated tank.
2. Addition of lime to the sand followed by heap leaching in the 'as-is' state;
3. Addition of lime and aeration of slurry followed by classification, slimes sent for
agitation leaching and courser material for heap leaching.
4. Addition of lime and cement, and the agglomeration of the mixture followed by heap
leaching.
Sardinia 2017 / Sixteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium / 2 - 6 October 2017

The other option would be to hydro sluice the ore and allow the slurry to flow into a concrete
lined pit were the material is then pumped straight to the concrete vat tanks as shown in
Figure 1. The properties of any prospective source of gold in the form of sand should be
thoroughly tested on a reasonable scale to ensure that the most advantageous process
route is chosen.

Figure 1: The vat leaching process flowsheet

3. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

An ore having a grade ~2.60g/t Au and weighing approximately 300kg mass was obtained
from five drill half-core samples sourced from dump sands around closed mines in
Zimbabwe. The ore was then milled and classified into six feed size classes as shown in
Table 1. The 73kg Sandrill is a power-driven rig able to penetrate to depths more than 50
metres at rate of between 40 and 200 metres per day. An ore sample weighing 200g was
then poured into a leaching bottle vessel and 200ml of water added to make a slurry. The pH
of the sample is then adjusted by adding lime (CaO), maintaining pH values as shown in
Table 3. Lime is added to maintain the pH of the pulp above 11 averting danger of producing
poisonous HCN. The leachant (sodium cyanide) is then added according to the set
parameters to begin the leaching process. The bottle containing the ore sample, distilled
water and lime is conditioned for one hour before adding calculated amounts of sodium
cyanide. It is then put on rollers to begin the leaching process under the parameters shown
in Table 2. After the completion of each leaching run, the samples are filtered through a
Buchner funnel to remove the leach liquor. This was re-filtered on a Millipore filter before
being taken for gold analysis, using an Atomic Adsorption Spectrometer. After analyzing the
filtrate for gold, the writer washes the slurry two - three times with distilled water. Thereafter
the solid is dried and sent for gold analysis.

Table 1: Size classes used

Size class Upper (microns) Lower (microns)

M1 -max +600

M2 -600 +300
 Sardinia 2017 / Sixteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium / 2 - 6 October 2017

M3 -300 +150

M4 -150 +75

M5 -75 to pan

Table 2: Leaching test parameters

Parameter Value Unit

by
Liquid to solids ratio 1:1 mass

Dissolution period 24 hrs

pH 9.5-12.5 (varied)

Cyanide
concentration 0.04-0.085 (varied) M

Head Grade Variable as per sample

Table 3: Leaching conditions

Parameter Concentration Particle size Lime pH
(microns
(ppm)

Values 0.04; 0.045; 0.055; Shown in Table 2 9.5-10.5; 10.5-

0.065 0.075; 0.085 11.5;

11.5-12.5

4. RESULTS & DISCUSSION

The head grades of the various composites generated for the testwork programme are
indicated in Table 4.

Table 4: Summary of testwork results

Grind Head Leach residue Total NaCN
Sample
sizeP80 grade(g/t Au) grade(g/t Au) extr.(%) consumption(kg/t)
91.0 –
75mm 1.40 0.11 – 0.14 0.27
92.4
91.0 –
75mm 1.83 0.08 – 0.18 0.40 – 0.66
95.8
93.7 –
75mm 2.70 0.12 – 0.17 0.38 – 0.56
95.8
96.3 –
75mm 0.82 0.03 0.25 – 0.75
97.0

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