Gold ore processing

1 . Ore Preparation
 Gold liberation 2. Gold Extraction
 Particle-size adjustment to • Extraction of gold from
ore into solution and/or
Ore processes
next concentrate
Preparation
 Physical concentration
and-oxidation
3. Gold Purification
•
pretreatment Purification of gold
bearing solution

4. Gold Production
Recovery of gold from
solution or concentrate to
produce a bulliion bar
Intensive Cyanidation
Intensive cyanidation is a proven technology operating at high gold and reagent
concentrations and/or high temperature and pressure to increase gold
dissolution rate.

The intensive cyanidation is applied for gravity concentrates containing coarse

gold. Oxygen may be introduced as air, pure oxygen or mixture of the two to gain
elevated oxygen partial pressure (Marsden and House, 1992).

Comparison between leaching conditions in intensive and conventional cyanidation

(Longley et al, 2003).
 Process Description.

Basic flow sheet of the ACACIA Reactor (Watson and Steward,2002).

The leach solution is mixed in the Reaction Vessel Feed Tank. The concentrated cyanide
(NaCN), caustic soda and portable water are added into the tank. Typically high leach
recoveries can be achieved in less than 8 hours. The leach cycle must be completed within
16 hours. The pregnant solution is then transferred to the main eluent tanks for
eletrowinning (Watson and Steward, 2002).
The ConSep ACACIA Reactor (Consep Pty Ltd).
Continuos intensive cyanide process (Gray et al., 2003).
Elution and Carbon Reactivation
Introduction

In CIL process, gold is leached from the ore using an alkaline cyanide solution. The
resulting gold cyanide complex ions are then concentrated and separated from the slurry by
adsorbing onto activated carbon. Therefore, Elution is the next step in the process, where
the adsorption of the gold cyanide complex onto carbon is reversed.

The majority of the activated carbon used for precious metal recovery is either granular
coconut-shell carbon or peat-based extruded carbon. Important considerations when
selecting an activated carbon for use in a CIP operation include gold-loading kinetics
(activity), gold-loading capacity, elution kinetics, level to which gold can be eluted,
strength and abrasion resistance, particle-size distribution and wet density.

The properties of a particular activated-carbon sample will have a significant impact on

most aspects of the gold-recovery operation, affecting variables such as carbon
inventory, residence times, gold losses, carbon losses and elution conditions. Therefore,
due consideration must be given to the physical and chemical properties of the virgin
carbon when selecting a particular brand for precious-metal recovery.
Loaded carbon is removed from the CIL circuit and the gold stripped from the carbon using
a number of treatment steps. The result is a solution of high gold concentration (pregnant
eluate).

Stripping the gold from the carbon, the elution process incorporates an acid wash
stage, which removes inorganic foulants from the carbon. Foulants reduce the activity, and
hence gold adsorbing efficiency and capacity, of carbon. Carbon is only partly reactivated
by the removal of inorganic foulants (precipitated salts, mineral matter etc) in the acid
washing cycle. Organic foulants such as oil, are unaffected by acid and must be removed by
thermal reactivation.
In the CIL circuit, adsorption of gold onto activated carbon is most effective at low
temperatures, low cyanide concentrations, low pH and high gold concentration in
solution (although some of these conditions aren’t practically achievable). Reversing
these conditions, elution (desorption) of gold from the carbon occurs.

Gold will only adsorb onto carbon at low temperatures. If the temperature of
a solution and carbon mixture is increased, the gold will readily desorb from
the carbon into the solution.

Temperature is therefore the most important variable in the elution process

and temperatures of 100-120°C.

Other parameters for the elution process are:

• High cyanide concentration
• High caustic concentration
• Low ionic strength of solution (i.e. low level of salts in the water)
• Optimum flow rate of solution through the carbon
• Low gold concentration in the solution
These conditions are not all simultaneously achievable and hence the entire
elution process occurs as a number of steps.
Elution Process Stages

1. Column Loading : Carbon is removed from the circuit

2. Acid Washing : Removes inorganic foulants from the carbon.
I. Acid Wash Cycle: A dilute hydrochloric acid solution (3%) is
circulated/pumped into the elution column.
II. Acid Soak Cycle
III. Acid Rinse Cycle

3. Cyanide Pretreatment : treating the carbon with a caustic-cyanide solution

at high temperature (115°C) and pressure (230 kPa).

4. Elution

Elution is the actual gold removal stage. Potable water (low ionic strength) is
pumped through the column at high temperature (115°C) and pressure (230 kPa).
High temperatures are used as the gold loading capacity of carbon is reduced with
increasing temperature.
Elution Tanks

Courtesy : STELIOS
STELIOS

Read the source Book ( concise about 20 pages)

STELIOS Project Management
Electrowinning :
Background :

Electrowinning is most often used to recover gold and silver from eluates
produced by the elution of activated carbon. Operation of the electrowinning
process differs depending on the elution procedure that is used.

In the case of Zadra elution, where the electrowinning cell is in series with the
elution column, the column and cell must be designed to elute and recover the gold
by recirculation of the eluant until the gold content of the eluted carbon is low
enough (<100 g/t) to be reactivated and returned to the adsorption circuit. In the
case of Anglo American Research Laboratories (AARL) elution, electrowinning is
carried out on the complete batch of eluate produced by a single pass through the
elution column.

The pregnant eluate is re-circulated through the cell until the concentration of the
gold in the barren solution is low enough to be discarded or returned to the
adsorption circuit. The cell is operated independently of the elution process.

DOI: 10.1016/S0167-4528(05)15026-1 : M. Costello

The reactions occurring at the electrodes of a cell recovering gold from
eluates containing cyanide and/or alkali are

Oxygen has a limited solubility in solution, so the partial current for the reaction
depicted in Eq. (3) is generally a small fraction of the overall current. For most
of the electrowinning cycle the gold and silver concentrations in the cell are
comparatively low, so the partial current due to reaction (1) is much smaller than
that due to reaction (2) so that for most of the cycle, reactions (2) and (4)
predominate.
DOI: 10.1016/S0167-4528(05)15026-1
The actual operating current required (typically 400Am2 of cell cross sectional
area) depends on a number of factors such as the flowrate, maximum gold and
silver concentration and temperature. The cell voltage (generally 3–10 V)
depends mainly on the anode–cathode spacing and the solution conductivity.
Schematic of the ILR continuous reactor.
Developments in Mineral Processing, Vol. 15
Mike D. Adams (Editor)
r 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Chapter 26 ( pp 637-653)
Electrowinning
M. Costello
Lycopodium Ltd., Perth, Western Australia