Environmental Protection Agency: goldch1

EPA 530-R-94-013NTIS PB94-170-305

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EXTRACTION AND BENEFICIATION OFORES AND MINERALSVOLUME 2

GOLD

August 1994U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyOffice of Solid WasteSpecial Waste Branch401 M Street, SWWashington, DC 20460

Technical Resource Document: Gold

DISCLAIMER AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This document was prepared by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency(EPA). The mention of company or product names is not to be consideredan endorsement by the U.S. Government or the EPA.This Technical Resource Document consists of five sections. The firstsection is EPA's Profile of the gold industry; the remaining four sections areSite Visit Reports from site visits conducted by EPA. The Profile Sectionwas distributed for review to the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureauof Mines and Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, the Western Governors Association, theInterstate Mining Compact Commission, the American Mining Congress,and Environmental Public Interest Groups. Summaries of the commentsand EPA's responses are presented as an appendix to the Profile Section.The Site Visit Report Sections were reviewed by individual company, state,and Federal representatives who participated in the site visit. Commentsand EPA responses are included as Appendices to the specific Site VisitSections. EPA is grateful to all individuals who took the time to reviewsections of this Technical Resource Document.The use of the terms "extraction," "beneficiation," and "mineral processing"in the Profile section of this document is not intended to classify any wastestreams for the purposes of regulatory interpretation or application. Rather,these terms are used in the context of common industry terminology.

Technical Resource Document: Gold

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....................................................1-11.1INTRODUCTION............................................................1-11.2ECONOMIC CHARACTERIZATION OF THE INDUSTRY.........................1-31.3ORE CHARACTERIZATION..................................................1-61.3.1Types of Gold Ore Deposits...........................................1-71.3.1.1Sediment-Hosted Disseminated Gold............................1-71.3.1.2Volcanic-Hosted Epithermal Deposits...........................1-71.3.1.3Porphyry Copper-Related Deposits.............................1-71.3.1.4Greenstone Gold Quartz Vein Deposits..........................1-81.3.2Mineral Content.....................................................1-81.4GOLD EXTRACTION AND BENEFICIATION PRACTICES.......................1-111.4.1Extraction Methods.................................................1-111.4.1.1Surface Mining............................................1-131.4.1.2Underground Mining........................................1-141.4.2Beneficiation Methods...............................................1-141.4.2.1By-Product Gold (Flotation)..................................1-141.4.2.2Gravity Concentration.......................................1-161.4.2.3Amalgamation.............................................1-161.4.2.4Cyanidation...............................................1-171.5WASTES AND OTHER MATERIALS ASSOCIATED WITH GOLD EXTRACTIONAND BENEFICIATION......................................................1-391.5.1Extraction and Beneficiation Wastes and Materials........................1-401.5.1.1RCRA Defined Wastes......................................1-401.5.1.2Materials.................................................1-431.5.2Waste and Materials Management......................................1-431.5.2.1RCRA Units..............................................1-441.5.2.2Non-RCRA Units..........................................1-451.6ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS...............................................1-461.6.1Ground Water/Surface Water.........................................1-461.6.1.1Acid Generation...........................................1-461.6.1.2Mine Dewatering...........................................1-471.6.1.3Release of Cyanide Solution From Active Heap Leach Units........1-471.6.1.4Release From Heap Leach Piles During and After Closure(Reclamation).............................................1-481.6.2Soil..............................................................1-491.6.2.1Land Application of Spent Cyanide Solution.....................1-491.6.2.2Detoxification of Cyanide....................................1-491.6.3Air...............................................................1-511.6.3.1Fugitive Dust..............................................1-511.6.4Damage Cases.....................................................1-511.6.4.1National Priorities List......................................1-511.6.4.2304(l) Sites...............................................1-521.7CURRENT REGULATORY AND STATUTORY FRAMEWORK...................1-531.7.1Environmental Protection Agency Regulations............................1-531.7.1.1Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.......................1-531.7.1.2Clean Water Act...........................................1-551.7.1.3Clean Air Act.............................................1-571.7.2Department of Interior...............................................1-59