CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Academic Year 2020 – 2021

CHE 320: SEPARATION PROCESSES II

(SOLID-LIQUID EXTRACTION – LEACHING)

SHOROYE MODESOLA ESTHER

18CF023998

GOLD CYANIDATION

6th June 2021

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ABSTRACT

This paper extensively explains the cyanidation leaching process of gold.

The main purpose of using sodium or potassium cyanide leaching solution to
leach gold is to convert the gold to a water-soluble coordination complex.
Heap leaching drums must be used as a pre-treatment step to agglomerate
the crushed ore that may contain a significant amount of ore fines of large
sizes and clay materials that may have developed during crushing so that
there will be a smooth and rapid flow of cyanide leaching solution through the
heaps. Heap leaching is very dependent on particle size and shape; heap
leaching drums ensure that uniformity. Gold would be produced at a much
better and larger amount when the cyanidation leaching process is preceded
by agglomeration. This paper ventures to provide a compact overview of the
cyanidation heap leaching process of gold using heap leaching drums.

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LIST OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………(ii)

NOMENCLATURE………………………………………………………………(iv)

1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………..(1)
1.1 LEACHING OVERIEW……………………………………………………..(1)

2. LEACHING PROCESS…………………………………………………………(1)

2.1 BREAKDOWN OF STEPS INVOLVED IN GOLD CYANIDATION…….(1)

2.1.1 STEP A: CRUSHING………………………………………………….(1)
2.1.2 STEP B: AGGLOMERATION USING THE HEAP LEACHING
DRUM………………………………………………………………………………..(2)
2.1.3 STEP C: LEACHING THE AGGLOMERATED ORE USING
CYNADINE LEACHING SOLUTION……………………………………………..(2)
2.1.4 STEP D: GOLD RECOVERY…………………………………………(2)

3. PROCESS CONDITIONS………………………………………………………(3)

4. EXTRACTOR…………………………………………………………………….(3)

4.1 HEAP LEACHING DRUM………………………………………………….(4)

4.2 HOW DO HEAP LEACHING DRUMS WORK?…………………………(4)
4.3 WHY USE HEAP LEACHING DRUMS IN GOLD CYANIDATION?…..(5)

5. DANGERS INVOLVED IN USING CYANIDE………………………………..(5)

6. REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………..(5)

7. GLOSSARY……………………………………………………………………(6)

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NOMENCLATURE

Au - the symbol for Aurum which is known as gold.

NaCN- sodium cyanide

O2- oxygen

H2O- water

Na[Au(CN)2]-Sodium dicyanoaurate

NaOH- Sodium hydroxide

m - meter

(aq)- aqueous

(s)- solid

(l)- liquid

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 LEACHING OVERVIEW

Leaching is commonly defined as the process by which a solute is removed

from a solid by a solvent. That is, the soluble part of the solid is removed by a
solvent. The choice of solvent is can affect the rate at which the solid is being
leached; usually, a solid with low viscosity and one which is selectively
dissolvable in the solid is used.
In the metallurgy industry, leaching is widely used in the extraction of certain
metals from their ores. These metals must be leached with chemicals because
the effect of leaching converts the metals to soluble salts which then makes for
easy access to the metals when they are washed and processed.

2. 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.

2.1 BREAKDOWN OF STEPS INVOLVED IN GOLD CYANIDATION

2.1.1 STEP A: CRUSHING

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

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have free flow through the heaps of the crushed gold ore further leading to low
production of gold.

2.1.2 STEP B: AGGLOMERATION USING THE HEAP LEACHING DRUM

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.

2.1.3 STEP C: LEACHING THE AGGLOMERATED ORE USING CYNADINE

LEACHING SOLUTION

Step B 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:

4Au(s) + 8NaCN(aq) + O2(g) + 2H2O(l)→ 4Na[Au(CN)2](aq) + 4NaOH(aq)

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.

2.1.4 STEP D: GOLD RECOVERY

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

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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.

Figure 2: A pictorial representation of the gold cyanidation process using a heap

leaching drum.

3. PROCESS CONDITIONS

Oxygen gas must be present at the solid-liquid interface because if oxygen is

deficient the leaching rate would be slowed down.
Slaked lime must also be added to the extracting solution to ensure that the pH
is maintained at a basic level of around 10.5.

4. EXTRACTOR

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Figure 2: Schematic Representation of the Heap leaching drum equipment
diagram

4.1 HEAP LEACHING DRUM

A heap leaching drum or an agglomeration drum is equipment that is used as a

pre-treatment step in the heap leaching of gold using sodium or potassium
cyanide leaching solution. It is usually 1 - 4.6m in diameter.

4.2 HOW DO HEAP LEACHING DRUMS WORK?

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
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.

4.3 WHY USE HEAP LEACHING DRUMS IN GOLD CYANIDATION?

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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.

5. DANGERS INVOLVED IN USING CYANIDE

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.

6. REFERENCES

Leaching overview available at :

A. metallurgy - Leaching | Britannica
B. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heap_leaching
Gold cyanidation steps available at:
A. Cyanide Process - Gold Cyanidation Process | Gold Leaching or Macarthur-
forest Process (byjus.com)
B. Summary of Gold Extraction Process (cnlitereagent.com)
C. Gold cyanidation - Wikipedia
D. Agglomeration-Heap Leaching Operations in the Precious Metals Industry By
G. E. McClelland, D. L. Pool. and J. A. Eisele
E. Carbon in pulp - Wikipedia
F. Gold Cyanidation: Process & Environmental Impacts | Study.com
G. Cyanide Use in Gold Mining - Earthworks
Process conditions for gold cyanidation available at:
A. Optimizing and evaluating the operational factors affecting the cyanide
learning circuit of the Aghdareh gold processing plant using a CCD model by
Asghar Azizi and Reza Ghaedrahmati
B. Why Oxygen is Important in Cyanidation (911metallurgist.com)

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Dangers involved in using cyanide available at:
C. Cyanide Use in Gold Mining - Earthworks
Extractor used and working mechanism available at:
A. Heap Leaching Equipment (feeco.com)
B. Agglomeration technique improves heap leaching process | Processing
Magazine
C. Agglomeration Drums in the Heap Leaching Process (feeco.com)
D. Agglomeration Drums (feeco.com)
E. Figure 2 : Agglomeration Drums in the Heap Leaching Process (feeco.com)
F. Figure 1: Drum agglomeration equipment. Reproduced from Chamberlin
(1986). | Download Scientific Diagram (researchgate.net)

7. GLOSSARY

Agglomeration: a mass collection of things into a group or collection

Cyanide: a very deadly and fast-acting chemical that exists in more than one
form

pH: a logarithmic scale that is used to measure the acidity or alkalinity of a

solution.

Aqueous: a solution that has its solvent to be water