Chapter 4 1
RECOVERY OF FINE GOLD FROM A PLACER ORE BY COAL GOLD AGGLOMERATION
S R Bellamy, C I House and C J Veal
BP Research Centre, Sunbury-on-Thames,Middlesex
INTRODUCTION
Coal gold agglomeration (CGA) is a new concept
in gold processing. It involves the recovery of
oleophilic (oil-loving) gold grains by causing
them to adhere selectively to the surfaces of coal
oil agglomerates. Under optimum conditions very
high recoveries of gold can be achieved. The
agglomerates are recycled to build up gold loading
to typically 1000 - 5000 g/tonne. Bullion can be
produced by burning the loaded agglomerates with
subsequent recovery of gold from the highly loaded
ash either by dissolution/electrowinning or
smelting.
A wide-ranging programme of laboratory testwork
has been performed to investigate the response of
different ore types to the process. This has
shown CGA to be most applicable to ores in which
the gold is liberated or easily liberatable,
relatively coarse (ca 500 pm) and fine (<5 pm)
gold grains being recoverable with equal ease.
The best opportunities for CGA seem to be:
placers containing fine gold not recoverable by
gravity concentration
low grade gravity concentrates to avoid multiple
magnetic/gravity separation stages and
amalgamation
free milling ores where the gold can be
liberated at a reasonable ore particle size eg
>d,, 50 pm
tailings past or present from gravity
concentration plants.
CGA testwork ranging in scale from laboratory
to pilot plant on tailings produced by gravity
concentration in the 19th century Australian gold
rush has already been reported (Bonney, C F, 1988;
House, C I. Townsend, I G and Veal, C J , 1988).
An economic appraisal for a Canadian free milling
gold ore has also been published (Buckley, S A,
House, C I and Townsend, I G , 1989).
This paper describes results of a detailed
laboratory programme to assess CGA as a means of
recovering gold from a beach sand deposit in New
Zealand.
The area from which the samples were taken
consists of quarternary interglacial marine,
lagoonal, fluvial and eolian deposits. The heavy
minerals present are predominantly ilmenite and
garnet and small concentrations of gold. In
certain locations the sands and gravels are
consolidated by a limonitic cement. In the 19th
Century some parts of the deposit were mined and
the ore processed using stamp milling and gravity
concentration. Gold recoveries were low, probably
below 50%, due primarily to the fine size of the
gold grains, the flaky nature of the gold and also
imperfect liberation by the stamp mills.
Our laboratory testwork was divided into three
parts :
i) Preliminary studies on an initial sample to
assess the feasibility of treating the ore by
CGA
ii) Extended studies on further samples from
various locations in the deposit to confirm
predictions from (i)
iii) Conventional gold recovery techniques.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
All CGA tests were performed by agitating a
slurry of ore in water in a 0.6 dm3 pyrex beaker
fitted with four vertical baffles. When required,
potassium amyl xanthate collector was added and
the slurry conditioned for 5 min. Coal (ex BP
Coal Australia's Tahmoor Colliery) previously
ground to a dso 50 pm was added followed by a
commercial grade of gas oil (density 840 kg/m3).
The agglomeration time was 30 min. The
agglomerates were separated from the tailings by
screening, both were then dried and analysed for
gold by fire assay. This test procedure provides
a reasonably accurate estimate of gold recoveries
that might be expected from our 1 tph pilot plant.
Ore samples were ground either dry in an agate
ring disc mill or wet in a steel batch tumbling
348 'WORLD GOLD'89'

ball mill with steel grinding media. Particle Table 1

size distribution of mill products was measured
using a laser diffraction size analyser. CHEMICAL ANALYSIS BY X-RAY FLUORESCENCE

Attrition scrubbing was performed using a Element Sample 1 Sample 3 Sample 5

Denver Dl2 agitator fitted with dual opposed- % % %
pitch, axial-flow impellers. Slurry pulp density
was 70% solids and agitation was performed at 1500
rpm (equivalent to a tip speed of 5.3 ms-1) for 30
min. Commercial attrition scrubbers operate under
similar conditions of pulp density and tip speed.

Gravity concentration was performed using a

Mozley laboratory separation table fitted with a
flat deck. Gold recovery by cyanidation was
investigated in bottle roll tests, 65 hours
duration at pH 11.0 - 11.5 adjusted with lime and
with 3.2 kg of sodium cyanide added per tonne of
ore. At the end of each test the pulp solids were
filtered and washed. The combined washings were
analysed for gold by atomic absorption
spectroscopy, and the dried solids by fire assay. D - Detected
ND - Not detected
Flotation tests were carried out in a Denver
Dl2 flotation cell. The pulp was conditioned with
220 g/t potassium amyl xanthate collector, 30 - GOLD DISTRIBUTIONS
40 g/t Dowfroth 250 frother and agitated at
1200 rpm. A succession of concentrate fractions The samples were all wet screened at 150 pm.
was taken, up to a total flotation time of 30 min. The undersize and oversize fractions were dried,
weighed and assayed for gold. The results are
given in Table 2.
MINERALOGICAL CHARACTERISATIONS
Table 2
The samples from the different sites varied
considerably in appearance. In particular the GOLD DISTRIBUTION IN ORE SAMPLES
sample colour varied considerably due to differing
levels of iron oxides and ilmenite. No Scrubbing
Sample Pretreatment Pretreatment
As-received, Sample 1 was mainly composed of No
fine light sand but also contained some darker Mass % Gold % Mass % Gold %
aggregates with a stratified colour variation. -150 pm -150 pm -150 pm -150 pm
This lamination, characteristic of marine
deposition and consolidation is due to light
coloured quartz/feldspar and dark ilmenite/garnet
minerals. Quartz was the most abundant mineral
with significant amounts of muscovite, mica and
feldspar. The majority of the coarser material
consisted of aggregates of smaller particles held
together by brown coloured cement. The average
particle shape observed was angular and not well
rounded as is common in most beach sand ores. ND - Not determined

Samples 5 and 6 contained coarse siliceous
gravel and large pebbles up to 10 mm in size,
whereas Sample 4 contained none.
Microscopic examination of all of the samples
indicated that the modal particle size of the sand
was the same in each sample being 200 - 300 pm.
The chemical composition of Samples 1 , 3 and 5,
as determined by XRF, are given in Table 1. The
most significant differences are in the Ti and Fe
contents, reflecting differences in proportions of
ilmenite and iron oxide slimes. There is also a
correlation between Au (determined by fire assay)
and Ti which would be expected since the beach
sand has already been subjected to a degree of
natural gravity concentration.
The data for all samples are similar in that
there is a preponderance of % gold over % mass in
the -150 pm size fraction. However the absolute
values of per cent mass and gold vary
considerably.
The effect of attrition scrubbing o n gold and
mass in the -150 pm size fraction is also shown in
Table 2. For Samples 2, 3, 4 and 6 the vast
majority of the cemented aggregates were broken up
and more than 9 4 % of the gold released into the
final size fractions. The relatively small
increase in per cent mass after scrubbing confirms
the natural grain size of the sand at >150 pm.
Sample 1 appears atypical perhaps because the
cemented aggregates are more strongly compacted in
this part of the deposit or perhaps the gold is
 RECOVERY OF FINE GOLD FROM A PLACER ORE
genuinely more coarse. Several other samples, not
reported here, have been assessed and confirm the
atypical behaviour of Sample 1.
Thus preconcentration of the ore by attrition
scrubbing and size splitting at ca 150 pm appears
to be a technically viable method for processing
the deposit and worthy of further testwork. This
route would have a major impact on the economics
of the project.
CGA TESTWOFX
The Effect of Grinding
In CGA the prime factor which affects the
recovery of gold grains is their state of
liberation. In the preliminary work, which was
carried out, on Sample 1 , the main variable
investigated was grind size.
Gold Recovery (%)
50 - b
40 -
@
30 -
I
20 -
10 -
'0 5
!b 1b0 140 2bo 240 3h
Size dSO ( v m )
Fig 1. Effect of Grinding on
Gold Recovery by CGA
The results from dry grinding the ore in a ring
disc mill are shown in Figure 1. Decreasing d,,
from 250 to about 180 pm increased the gold
recovery from 40 to 90%. However, with a longer
grinding time (d,, 20 pm) the recovery fell to
about 60 per cent. The initial increase in the
gold recovery is attributed to the breaking up of
aggregates which released the adherent or cemented
fine gold. A decreasing number of strongly bonded
aggregates in the finer ground samples was
observed under an optical microscope. Under
optimum grinding conditions (da, 130 pm) the
349
majority of the aggregates had been broken up and
further grinding resulted in general particle size
reduction. The decrease in recovery with fine-
grinding may be due to the reduction in
hydrophobicity of the gold caused by embedding of
gangue particles or the deformation of the soft
metallic flakes.
The effect of wet ball milling was very similar
to that produced by dry grinding (Figure 1).
Optimum gold recovery (>85%) occurred for d,,
sizes of between 200 and 90 pm.
Thus, only a mild treatment is required for
gold (up to 90%) to be liberated from gangue
particles. A grinding pretreatment could
therefore simply consist of a rotary scrubber or
pebble mill followed by attrition scrubbing to
disperse the aggregates. Size reduction of the
primary sand particles should not be necessary.
Results with Scrubbed Material
Six small-scale CGA batch tests were performed
on each sample that had previously been attrition
scrubbed and screened at -150 pm (Table 3). The
operating parameters investigated were:
Agitation speed during ore/ 750 and 1500 rpm
agglomerate contacting
Collector addition 0 , 200 and 500 g/t
Agitation speed during 750 and 1500 rpm
collector conditioning
Operating conditions which gave tailings grades
less than or equal to 0.04 g/t were identified for
four of the samples (Nos 2, 3, 5 and 6). The
single exception was Sample 4 where tailings
grades did not fall below 0.13 g/t. Possible
reasons for this apparent anomaly are (i) the
attrition scrubbing conditions, which were not
optimised, were not sufficiently severe to break
down all the cemented aggregates or (ii) the
attrition scrubbing failed to remove iron oxide
coating of the liberated gold grains. Sample 4
contained a smaller proportion of coarse (+0.5 mm)
material than the other samples.
In many of the CGA tests gold recoveries well
above 90% were achieved. Gold recovery is a
function of the tailings grade and the head grades
of the test sub-samples (calculated from grades of
agglomerates and tailings). The calculated head
grades varied considerably within a test sequence
for a given sample, owing to the small size of
sub-sample available for each test. In addition
the calculated head grade varied throughout the
five samples indicating considerable variation
across the deposit.
The results are in good agreement with those
with Sample 1 for which gold recoveries of 90% on
a head grade of ca 0.8 g/t were achieved. The
light grind on Sample 1 and attrition scrub on
Samples 2, 3, 5 and 6 appear to have had the same
effect.
 'WORLD GOLD '89'

Table 3

CGA RESULTS ON SCRUBBED ORE (-150 !-bml

Sample Tsst Impsller KAX Addition Conditioning Calc Hsad Tails Grade Gold
No No Speed Spsed Recovery
rpn kglt Ore rP glt &It X

*Sample 5 scrubbed but not screened at 150 pm

since insufficient undersize for all testwork

The ore samples showed considerable variation
in their response to CGA even after attrition
scrubbing. In the case of Samples 3 and 6
excellent recoveries were achieved in all tests
independent of the operating parameters within the
ranges investigated. In contrast, Samples 2 and 5
gave no significant gold recovery in the absence
of collector even at high agitation speed. The
degree of agitation was however, influential in
increasing gold recovery in the presence of
collector either during conditioning or during
ore/agglomerate contacting.
Results with Unscrubbed Material
Some experiments were carried out on Samples 2 ,
3 and 5 that had previously been screened at
1.7 mm but had no scrubbing or milling
pretreatment. The results are presented in
Table 4 together with data from tests under
indentical conditions on scrubbed samples.
Table 4
EFFECT OF ATTRITION SCRUBBING ORE -1.7 mm ORE

Overall the results suggest that the gold Sample Impsller KAX Calc Tails Gold
No Speed Addition Head Grads Recovery
surface properties vary considerably in different rpn kglt Ors glt glt X
ore samples probably due to the presence of iron
oxide staining and increased surface 2 Scrubbed 1500 0.2 1.82 0.04 98.0
hydrophilicity. Some of the variations in surface Unscrubbed 1500 0.2 0.27 c0.03 D89.1
properties might have been due to differences in -

the effectiveness of the scrubbing technique used. 3 Scrubbed 1500 0.2 2.03 0.09 95.6
Unscrubbsd 1500 0.2 1.02 0.30 71.0
It was possible to overcome variations in
surface properties in 4 of the 5 samples examined 5 Scrubbed 1500 0.2 0.28 0.04 85.6
Unacrubbsd 1500 0.2 0.61 0.22 63.7
by adding collector to increase surface
oleophilicity and using relatively high agitation
rates which increase the energy of interparticle In the case of Samples 3 and 5 gold recoveries
collisions and chances of successful adhesion of were better on scrubbed materials, reflecting
greater liberation of the gold grains. The
the gold grains to the coal oil agglomerates.
scrubbing made little difference with Sample 2.
 RECOVERY OF FINE GOLD FROM A PLACER ORE 351

With such a heterogeneous ore with widely
differing degrees of consolidation the scrubbing
stage would have to be incorporated into the final
flowsheet as an insurance. The improvement in
recovery potentially achievable would almost
certainly justify any increased cost.
The extreme flakiness of the gold grains was
also thought to adversely affect the performance
of gravity concentration.
Assuming the shape factor f from Gy's formula
(Otley, D H, 1966) to be:

mass of particle
COMPARISON OF CGA WITH CONVENTIONAL f -
GOLD RECOVERY TECHNIQUES (particle diameter)3 x density

Gravity Concentration
Gravity concentration of gold from a -150 pm
fraction screened from as-received Sample 1 was
reasonably effective (Figure 2) with 71.4%
recovery into 20 per cent mass, to produce a
concentrate grade of 7.2 g Au tonne-1. A final
concentrate had a grade of 30 g Au tonne-1 but
recovery was only 10%.
then the f value for observed grains was only 0.01
compared with a value of 0.2 more usual for flaky
alluvial gold.
It is unlikely that better results could be
achieved on industrial equipment as the Mozley
table is more suited to the recovery of fine
particles than, for example, spirals or shaking
tables. The overall process gold recovery would
be expected to be less than 70%.

Gravity concentration does not compare well

Mass & Gold Recoveries (96) with CGA where recoveries in excess of 90% should
be achievable. Also with recycle agglomerate
grades of 2000 to 5000 g/t will be obtained.

Cyanidation

Samples 2 - 6 (-1.7 mm, unscrubbed) were

cyanided to give data on the percentage of
leachable gold and also lime and cyanide
consumptions. The results are presented in
60 , Gold Table 5.

In all cases very little gold remained in the

residue after leaching. Gold recoveries were
close to or above 90% except for Sample 4 (66.7%)
which was artificially low due to the low
calculated head grade of the test sample. Lime
requirements were high (7.1 - 13.1 kg/t) due to

Mass -.--.A
the acidic nature of the ore. Cyanide
consumptions varied from 0.24 to 1.10 kg/t in part
due to varying amounts of iron dissolution.

Gold recoveries by cyanidation and CGA compare

well for Samples 2, 3, 5 and 6. Comparison of
relative performance on Sample 4 is complicated by
Gold Grade (pprn) the low head grade of the cyanidation test sample.

Fig 2. Gravity Concentration of

-150 pm Size Fraction Table 5

CYANIDATION RESULTS ON SAMPLES 2 - 6

Sample Natural NaCH Lime Gold in Gold in Calculated Gold

No PH Consumed Requirement Solution Residue Head Extracted
kg/t kg/t g/t g/t g/t %
352 'WORLD GOLD '89'

Flotation agglomerate grades would be 2000 - 5000 g/t or

higher and after combustion the ash would contain
Flotation tests were performed with Samples 3 2 to 5% or more gold.
and 4 , attrition scrubbed but not screened at
150 pm. The results are shown in Table 6. In CGA performance was superior to gravity
both tests the pulp frothed well before adding any concentration, the fine, flaky nature of the gold
reagents. After addition of frother (Dowfroth leading to relatively low gravity recoveries (ca
250) the froth was around 10 mm deep. In 15 - 70%) into concentrates containing only ca 7 g/t.
20 min the froth became thin and Dowfroth 250 Although giving gold recoveries similar to CGA
(0.01 kg/t) ore was added. flotation also produced low grade concentrates
which would require extensive further treatment to
Table 6 produce bullion. CGA performance was also similar
to cyanidation but would be expected to be
RESULTS OF FLOTATION TESTWORK considerably cheaper to operate and would have the
environmental advantage of not entailing the large
Flotation Cumulative Cumulative Recovery scale use of cyanide.
Sample No Time Weight Gold Grade
min 2: &It 2:

5 0.89 77.82 >95.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

10 1.33 52.48 >95.5
(Scrubbed -1.7 m) 20 2.39 29.31 >95.9 The authors wish to acknowledge contributions
3 30 3.00 23.35 >96.0
Tails ~ r a d e <0.03 to the work from Dr H A Bustamante,
Calc head 0.73 Mrs E A Crathorne, Mr A R Goddard, Mr K D Pearse.
Permission to publish this paper was given by the
5 0.85 8.24 b66.7 British Petroleum Company plc.
10 1.40 5 25 b69.9
(Scrubbed -1.7 mn) 20 2.62 2.86 b71.6
4 30 3.48 2.18 >72.4 Note: Readers of this paper will be aware that BP
Tails grade g0.03 has sold most of its mineral operations, until
Calc head 0.10
1989 handled by BP Minerals, to RTZ Corporation
plc. Commercial enquiries regarding CGA should be
The gold in both Samples 3 and 4 was addressed to Dr C J Veal, BP Research Centre,
sufficiently hydrophobic for flotation because Chertsey Road, Sunbury-on-Thames,Middlesex or to
after 30 min the tailings grades had fallen below Dr D J Westlake, BP Ventures, Worcester House,
0.03 g/t equivalent to recoveries of >67% and >96% Langley Quay, Waterside Drive, Langley, Slough,
dependent on calculated head grade. SL3 6EY.

The final concentrate grades were 23.35 g/t for

Sample 3 and 2.18 g/t for Sample 4. If the REFERENCES
flotation feed had been preconcentrated with
removal of the +I50 pm material then the float Bonney, C F , 1988, Coal Gold Agglomeration - A
concentrates would have been higher in grade but Novel Approach to Gold Recovery. Randol Gold
probably not much higher since it is the fines Forum 88, Scottsdale, Arizona, 23rd - 24th
which tend preferentially to become entrained in January.
the froth. Therefore the flotation concentrates
would need a considerable amount of subsequent House, C I , Townsend, I G , Veal, C J , 1988, Coal
processing to produce bullion. Gold Agglomeration - Pilot Scale Retreatment
of Tailings Randol International Gold
In the case of Sample 3 CGA and flotation Conference, Perth, Australia, November.
compare well in performance. With Sample 4
flotation gave lower tailings grades than CGA due House, C I, Townsend, I G, Veal, C J , 1988, Coal
either to the lower flotation gold head grade or Gold Agglomeration, International Mining
to the surface properties of the gold being September.
sufficiently hydrophobic for flotation but not for
agglomeration. As noted earlier further better Buckley, S A, House, C I , Townsend, I G , 1989. A
understanding of Sample 4 is thought likely to Technico-Economic Assessment of the Coal Gold
lead to improved CGA recoveries. Agglomeration Gold Recovery Process, The
Canadian Mineral Processors Conference, Ottawa,
January.
CONCLUSIONS
Otley, D H 1966, Gy's Sampling Slide Rule, World
The performance of CGA on samples from a beach Mining August 1966, 40 - 44.
sand deposit in New Zealand was extremely
encouraging. A processing flowsheet involving
attrition scrubbing, size classification and CGA
on the undersize is thought to be the best route
for treating this ore. Low tailings grades and
high gold recoveries were achieved and almost
certainly can be improved still further with more
optimisation. From previous experience the CGA