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Shoroye - 18CF023998 - Che 320 - Term Paper
Shoroye - 18CF023998 - Che 320 - Term Paper
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
GOLD CYANIDATION
6th June 2021
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ABSTRACT
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LIST OF CONTENTS PAGE NUMBER
ABSTRACT___________________________________________________
1.NOMENCLATURE ____________________________________________
INTRODUCTION _____________________________________________
2.1 LEACHING OVERIEW________________________________________
3.LEACHING PROCESS_________________________________________
PROCESS CONDITIONS______________________________________
EXTRACTOR________________________________________________
5.1 HEAP LEACHING DRUM______________________________________
5.2 HOW DO HEAP LEACHING DRUMS WORK?_____________________
5.3 WHY USE HEAP LEACHING DRUMS IN GOLD CYANIDATION?______
REFERENCES_______________________________________________
GLOSSARY__________________________________________________
NOMENCLATURE
O2- oxygen
H2O- water
Na[Au(CN)2]-Sodium dicyanoaurate
m - meter
(aq)- aqueous
(s)- solid
(l)- liquid
III
2.INTRODUCTION
3. LEACHING PROCESS
Gold is an inorganic solid. Gold cyanidation is the most common leaching step
involved in the extraction of gold from its ore. Cyanidation is the only choice for
gold recovery from low-grade ores and finely dispersed ores in both
technological and economical processes. Gold ore is leaching using sodium or
potassium leaching solution to make the gold soluble. Heap leaching is adopted
in this process because it is large-scale production of gold and heap leaching is
the most suitable for large-scale processes. Heap leaching is the most suitable
because it produces the desired concentrates at a lower cost compared to other
unsteady state leaching operations. Gold cyanidation is an unsteady state
leaching operation because, with time, the properties of the crushed gold ore
are changing.
a. Step (a) involves crushing or grinding of the ore; most of the time, the ores
are not always completely crushed, they always either contain clay particles and
ore fines and if left like this, the sodium or potassium cyanide solution would not
have free flow through the heaps of the crushed gold ore further leading to low
production of gold.
b. Step (b) involves the use of a heap leaching drum to agglomerate the
crushed ore to ensure uniformity in size by removal of all forms of clay particles
or irregular ore fines. While agglomeration is going on, the sodium or potassium
cyanide leaching solution is applied early to the crushed ore. This is to allow for
the leaching solution to begin leaching the gold ore to offer further efficiency
through a more uniform or homogeneous mix of ore fines and leaching solution.
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c. Step (c) involves the curing of the agglomerated ore in the heap for about
forty-eight hours. In the open, the cyanide solution is sprayed over very huge
heaps of crushed ore that are spread on top of giant collection pads. The heap
is then leached in about (how long the heap of crushed ore is leached for
depends on the amount of crushed gold ore in use), allowing the solution to
drain to the bottom of the heap. The pad then collects the metal impregnated
solution. The chemical reaction for the dissolution of gold to a water
coordination soluble complex is known as the "Elsner Equation", it is given as:
In this redox process, oxygen removes, via a two-step reaction, one electron
from each gold atom to form the complex Au(CN)−2 ion.
d. Step (d) comes in after the leaching process. Activated carbon is used to
recover gold from the cyanide solution; this is called the Carbon in Pulp method.
Other ways in which gold can be recovered from the cyanide solution are
Electrowinning and the Merrill- Crowe process. The carbon in pulp method is
the cheapest and simplest method, therefore, making it the most used. In this
method, the sodium/potassium cyanide is treated with activated carbon causing
the gold to detach from the sodium/potassium cyanide.
This process can take days.
4. PROCESS CONDITIONS
5. EXTRACTOR
In the case of gold cyanidation, heap leaching drums work by tumbling the
crushed gold ore in a rotating drum through its interior to achieve the fine and
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uniform gold ores. The drum is sized and designed in such a way that retention
time that is essential for the agglomerate to be formed to the desired size is
held The tumbling action is very helpful in rounding the agglomerates and
creating a uniform/homogeneous mixture. The heap leaching drum must be
used with a binding agent like Portland II cement or lime. This would ensure that
the agglomerates do not break up as the leaching solution percolates through
the heap.
Heap leaching drums are used because these ores must be properly
agglomerated; that is completely free from clay or ore fines. This would allow for
easy, smooth, and rapid flow of the cyanide solution through the heaps. If the
heap leaching process is not preceded by the agglomeration step, production or
output would be very low. In that case, the company is looking at major losses.
The Heap leaching drum is also used because it helps to improve heap
permeability and metal recovery.
Not knowing the dangers of using cyanide can lead to death. It is important to
know that cyanide is a very toxic compound and it affects the ecological
environment. Knowing the dangers of cyanide before adopting the gold
cyanidation process for gold extraction is very important.
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6.REFERENCES
7.GLOSSARY
Cyanide: a very deadly and fast-acting chemical that exists in more than one
form