11.

1
PAGE 1 OF 9

11.0 METAL RECOVERY

11.1 PROCESS DESCRIPTION
INTRODUCTION
The pregnant eluate from the in-line leach reactor and carbon stripping circuit is
passed through dedicated electrowinning cells in order to recover the gold and silver
from solution. The pregnant solution circulates through the cells until gold and silver
cannot be recovered and the cells are shut down.
The gold and silver is washed from the cathodes in the cells, and it flows to a vacuum
filter for dewatering. The sludge is then dried, mixed with fluxes, and smelted in a
barring furnace. The furnace is tilted, and slag and doré are poured into a cascade of
7 moulds. Slag is displaced by doré until there is no doré remaining. Slag is collec-
ted in a bund. Each mould is emptied, and any remaining slag removed from the bars
by chipping hammer, then stamped for identification.
ELECTROWINNING
There are two distinct electrowinning circuits, one for the in-line leach reactor eluate
and the other for the eluate from the CIL elution circuit. Both of these systems are
discussed in more detail after a general discussion of the electrowinning process.
Electrowinning is the process used to recover the gold and silver from the pregnant solu-
tion. Figure 11.1 illustrates a simplified electrowinning cell.
FIGURE 11.1
SIMPLIFIED ELECTROWINNING CELL

METL111.DOC PROCESS MANUAL 1 JUN 04

 11.1
PAGE 2 OF 9

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
SIMPLIFIED ELECTROWINNING CELL
Electrowinning is an electrolytic process. An electrolytic process is a
chemical process produced in an electrolyte by an electric current. An
electrolyte is a solution that conducts electricity. Electrowinning recovers
gold and other base metals from an electrolyte by passing a direct electrical
current between electrodes (anodes and cathodes) immersed in that
electrolyte. An electrode is a solid conductor through which an electric
current enters or leaves the electrolyte.
An ion is an atom of an element that has one or more extra electrons or is
missing one or more of its electrons. Electrons carry a negative charge.
Because of this, ions with extra electrons carry a negative charge, and ions
missing electrons carry a positive charge. The gold in the pregnant solution
occurs as positively charged ions. To recover the gold in a solid form, it is
necessary to supply each gold ion with an electron to replace the one it is
missing. This is a reduction process. Reduction occurs when an element or
ion gains one or more electrons. Reduction reactions take place at the
cathode. Oxidation occurs when an element or ion loses one or more
electrons. Oxidation reactions take place at the anode.
The gold in the pregnant solution is a gold/cyanide ion complex. This ion
complex is symbolically represented as Au(CN)2- This symbol says that each
gold atom (Au) combines with two cyanide (CN) molecules and the entire
combination has one extra electron represented by the “-” sign. In reality, the
gold atom is missing one electron (Au +), and each of the two cyanide
molecules has an extra electron. The net effect is that the complex has one
extra electron as shown. By supplying the Au + ion with an electron, the
electro-winning cell recovers the gold from the electrolyte. This reduction
process deposits gold on the cathode. The reactions occurring at the cathode
are:
Au(CN)2- + e- → Au↓ + 2 CN-
2H+ + 2e- → H2↑
where e- represents a single electron. The Au↓ symbol shows that gold is
deposited as a solid, and H2↑ shows that hydrogen gas is generated. These are
reduction reactions because they involve the gain of electrons. The main
reaction at the anode is the oxidation of water. The reaction creates oxygen
gas and releases electrons to the anode. The hydrogen ions (H +) produced
migrate to the cathode where they react as shown in the second reduction
reaction:
2H2O → 4H+ + O2↑ + 4e-
An electric current supplied by a direct-current power source drives the
reactions shown above. In the simplified electrowinning cell shown in Figure
4.1, this source could be a battery. In a production plant, the source is a
rectifier. A rectifier converts alternating current to direct current. The power
source supplies an excess of electrons to the cathode. This allows the
reduction reactions to take place at the cathode. The oxidation reactions at
the anode liberate electrons that collect at the anode and flow around the
circuit to the cathode. The power source may be thought of as an electron
pump that takes electrons from their source at the anode and delivers them to
the cathode where they are consumed. For every electron consumed at the
cathode, an electron is liberated at the anode.
The solid deposited at the cathode is not pure gold. It also contains a number
of impurities that usually include silver and often include mercury, copper,
and a number of other metals. The common name for the deposited solid
material is sludge. The sludge must be refined to produce pure gold. The

METL111.DOC PROCESS MANUAL 1 JUN 04

 11.1
PAGE 3 OF 9

other impurities may or may not be recovered, depending on their value and
recovery costs.
Instinctively it would seem that CN - and H+ in the electrolyte would combine
to create hydrogen cyanide gas (HCN). Fortunately, the presence of sodium
hydroxide (NaOH) in the electrolyte solution prevents this reaction. Sodium
hydroxide provides the dual benefit of improved conductivity of the
electrolyte and the prevention of HCN formation.

The solution is sent to dedicated identical electrowinning cells. The cells are located
in the high-security area of the gold room and are accessible only by authorised per-
sonnel. Each of these cells is 800-mm-wide by 800-mm-high, and each can hold 19
anodes and 18 cathodes. A butyl rubber lining protects the interior surfaces of the
tank. Each cell has a pregnant solution inlet, and a barren electrolyte outlet, and two
drains. One of the drains is for sludge containing the precious metals, and the other is
a decant line to remove excess solution from the cell after washing the cathodes.
Each anode consists of a 316-stainless steel frame supporting a heavy-gauge 316-
stainless steel mesh. Each cathode consists of a 316-stainless steel frame wound with
316-stainless steel wire.
Figure 11.2 shows a generalised view of an electrolytic cell, and Figure 11.3 shows a
generalised view of an anode and cathode assembly.
The flow rate of pregnant eluate through each cell is approximately 142 litres per
minute (8.5 m3/hr). The rectifier control panels allow the operators to monitor and
adjust voltage and current. The operator sets the rectifiers to deliver an output
voltage of 10.0 volts. This voltage should produce a current of approximately 4,500
amps. If the current draw is low, the operator can add caustic (NaOH) solution to
raise the conductivity of the electrolyte. The optimum level of solution in the tank is
75 mm below the top of the rubber-lined section of the cell. This measurement is
taken between the feed end of the cell and the first anode. As gold plates out, the
open area of the cathode mesh decreases, thereby increasing the resistance to fluid
flow through the cathode. The result is a rise in the solution level ahead of each cath-
ode. Eventually, if left unattended, the solution would overflow the top of each cath-
ode.
Before the electrolyte overflows the top of the cathodes and before the cell efficiency
drops too low, the cells are drained and the sludge cleaned from the cathodes and the
tank. The cathodes are raised and washed manually with high-pressure sprays of pro-
cess solution. The sludge collects in the bottom of the cell. It is then drained from
the cell to the vacuum pan filter. Each cell is shut down after approximately 6 strips,
about once per week, on an as-needed basis.
PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
ELECTROLYTIC CELL
Electrowinning removes the precious metals from the pregnant solution by
passing direct current through an electrowinning cell. The pregnant solution
(electrolyte) is fed into a corrosion-resistant tank containing alternately
positioned cathodes and anodes. These components comprise the
electrowinning cell. A direct-current power supply is connected to the anodes
and cathodes. As current passes through the cell, metal deposits on the
cathodes. The cell compartment is a linear flow-through design. Pregnant
solution is continuously pumped into the cell, metal is removed from the

METL111.DOC PROCESS MANUAL 1 JUN 04

 11.1
PAGE 4 OF 9

electrolyte, and barren solution (solution containing little or no gold)

discharges from the cell.
The cathode is a conductor with a high surface area. The high surface area is
required to minimise the current density (the ratio of the total current to total
cathode surface area). Low-current density increases the rate of metal
deposition. As the concentration of the metals in the electrolyte decreases,
the efficiency of the cell also decreases. At high-current densities, the
increased formation of hydrogen gas at the cathode is evidence of decreased
efficiency.
FIGURE 11.2
ELECTROLYTIC CELL

The anode has a conductive corrosion-resistant surface. The anode bus bar
and the cathode bus bar are copper and run the full length of the cell on either
side. The anodes and the cathodes contact their respective bus bars through
specially designed connector cables. The opposite side of the hanger bar rests
in a slot in the cell sidewall, which does not allow the hanger bar to contact
the bus bar.
The electrolyte enters the electrowinning cell with a relatively high
concentration of precious metals. The mercury, lead, silver, gold, and copper
in the solution deposit on the cathode as the solution flows through the cell.
The electrolyte should contain sufficient NaOH to have a pH of at least 12.0.
PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
ANODE AND CATHODE ASSEMBLY
The cathode has four major design requirements: high surface area, high
conductivity, good mechanical strength, and a large open area for metal
deposition. A typical cathode consists of a plastic or stainless steel frame
wound with stainless steel stocking mesh. In a rectangular cell with linear
flow, the cathodes are suspended down the axis of the cell alternately with
anodes.

METL111.DOC PROCESS MANUAL 1 JUN 04

 11.1
PAGE 5 OF 9

The anode must also be a conductive metal surface. The typical anode
surfaces include plate, sheet, or mesh. The anode must be corrosion-resistant
because of the highly oxidising conditions at the contact between the anode
and the electrolyte. Stainless steel is the widely used material of construction,
although carbon or titanium can be used.
FIGURE 11.3
ANODE AND CATHODE ASSEMBLY

There is a fume hood over the electrowinning cells that extract any gas fumes and
mist generated during the electrowinning process. The fume hood is removed when
the cathodes are removed for cleaning, and put back into position prior to electrowin-
ning. Each fume hood is connected to a plenum chamber that connects the cell to a
fan. The fan draws the fumes from above the cell and exhausts them to the atmo-
sphere via a common electrowinning exhaust stack. The fan airflow is controlled by
positioning a manual damper in the fan suction line. The makeup air enters the cell
between the spaces of the cathode and anode bus bars, which helps to cool the bus
bars.
During electrowinning, the spent electrolyte flows by gravity to respective holding
tanks, the leach reactor eluate storage tank, or the strip solution tank. The solutions
are recycled until the gold content of the barren solution exiting the cells drops to
about 5 g/tonne. This concentration is low enough for the solution to return to the
head of the adsorption circuit. At this concentration, the operator changes the valves
to deliver the barren eluate to the barren eluate tank. Additional information for the
two electrowinning circuits follows.
In-Line Leach Reactor Electrowinning
Pregnant eluate (also called pregnant solution or loaded electrolyte) from the in-line
leach reactor circuit is pumped to the leach reactor eluate storage tank. The in-line re-
actor electrowinning circuit is operated on a batch basis. The eluate from the leach re-

METL111.DOC PROCESS MANUAL 1 JUN 04

 11.1
PAGE 6 OF 9

actor eluate storage tank is pumped by the pregnant eluate pump through Electrowinning
Cell No. 1. The eluate leaving the cell flows by gravity back to the storage tank. Once
the concentration in the eluate is too low to continue, the solution is considered barren.
The barren eluate is then pumped from the eluate tank to the barren eluate tank.
The control system provides for operator selection of the leach reactor eluate storage
tank duty. These modes are:
 Pregnant Eluate Receival. The operator can select this mode after the barren eluate
transfer has been completed. The level in the tank is monitored, and the Receival
mode cannot be activated if the level in the tank is high.
 Electrowinning Feed. The operator selects this mode after the completion of the
previous step. The valve to the barren eluate tank is closed, and the electrowinning
feed valve is open.
 Barren Eluate Transfer. The operator selects this mode after the completion of the
previous step. The valve to the barren eluate tank is open, and the electrowinning
feed valve is closed.
The production from the in-line leach reactor electrowinning circuit is designed to be
approximately 10.6 kg of gold and 5.7 kg of silver per batch. The circuit is expected
to run for 12 hours.
CIL Elution Electrowinning
Pregnant solution from the elution column is advanced to Electrowinning Cell No. 2
during the stripping cycle. (Refer to Section 9.0, Elution and In-Line Reactor, for addi-
tional information on the elution cycle.) When solution flow exits the electrowinning
cell, an alarm alerts the operator to start the electrowinning cell rectifier. The operator
controls the rectifier current from the panel near the cell. When the elution operation is
complete, an alarm alerts the operator to turn off the current.
The production from the elution electrowinning circuit is designed to be approxim-
ately 8.9 kg of gold and 2.0 kg of silver per batch. The circuit is expected to run for
16 hours, during the approximately 20 hours that the carbon stripping circuit operates.
FILTRATION AND DRYING
The precious metals plated onto the cathodes from both electrowinning cells is
handled in the same manner. A description of the cathode handling operation for the
cells is provided below.
 Draining the Electrowinning Cell. The electrolyte in the cell is drained to the
gold trap (sump) on the floor of the gold room. The operator manually controls
the drain rate to ensure that no metal is carried over into the gold trap, and also to
ensure that the decant rate is not so high as to exceed the sump pump capacity.
 Removing the Anode Pack. The fume hood is removed, and the anode pack is
carefully lifted using the overhead hoist. Any sludge adhering to the anode pack
is hosed off into the cell. The anode pack is placed in the holding frame.
 Starting the Vacuum System. The vacuum pump is started, and the vacuum re-
ceiver is evacuated. The remaining cell solution is drained to the vacuum filter.
The operator controls the flow to prevent overloading the filter. Once the electro-
lyte in the cell has been filtered, the operator regulates the flow to the vacuum
pump to accept the lower flow of solids and washwater being drained from the fil-
ter during the cell cleaning step.
METL111.DOC PROCESS MANUAL 1 JUN 04
 11.1
PAGE 7 OF 9

 Removing the Cathode Pack. The hoist is used to raise the cathodes and success-
ively wash them with a high-pressure washer to remove the plated metals. The
plated metals are collected in the bottom of the electrowinning cells as sludge.
The flow to the filter is controlled to prevent overloading the filter. The filtrate
collects in the filtrate receiver and is drained.
 Draining the Vacuum Receiver. Any sludge in the receiver is drained to the gold
trap (sump) on the floor of the gold room. The operator manually controls the
drain rate to ensure that no metal is carried over into the gold trap, and also to en-
sure that the decant rate is not so high as to exceed the sump pump capacity.
The vacuum receiver is designed to hold the sludge and washwater used to clean
the cell and cathodes. The receiver is equipped with a high-level alarm that alerts
the operator that the receiver is full. If a high-level alarm is activated during cath-
ode or cell washing, the operator must stop draining the cell, shut down the va-
cuum filter, and drain the receiver. There is a high-high receiver level switch that
stops the vacuum pump to prevent filtrate from passing into the vacuum pump.
 Drying the Sludge. After filtering, the vacuum filter pan is tilted and the filtered
sludge is shovelled from the filter pan to the drying trays. The trays are manually
lifted and placed in the drying oven.
The drying oven is capable of holding twelve 500-mm-by-500-mm drying trays. It is
equipped with six 4-kW electric heaters and a lockable door. The drying temperature
is controlled by a local panel. The trays are allowed to cool after drying, and the
sludge is then packaged and stored or smelted.
SMELTING
The sludge, now dried and cooled, is bagged and stored in the vault or taken dir -
ectly to the flux tray. The sludge contains gold and silver, as well as various con -
taminants in minor quantities. These contaminants may include copper, lead, cad -
mium, zinc, and other base metals. In addition, the sludge also contains silica,
gypsum, and calcite. Removal of these contaminants is the goal of the smelting
step. The contaminants are removed by oxidising them and dissolving them in a
slag that is easily separated from the bullion. Slag is a glass-like substance pro-
duced in the smelting process. This substance is far less dense than the bullion
and floats on top of the molten bullion.
To initiate the separation process, the sludge is first mixed with flux. Flux is a mix-
ture of several components that aids in the melting of the charge and promotes oxida-
tion of the contaminants. Common flux components are borax, niter, and silica. Less
common but often used components are soda ash and fluorspar. Each of these com-
ponents has a particular purpose in the mixture.
Borax: Borax (Na2B4O7) is an excellent solvent for base metal oxides. It is acidic and,
at red heat, becomes a strong acid that dissolves practically all metal oxides, both acid
and base. Borax melts at 747°C and lowers the melting point of all slags. It is very fluid
in the molten state.
Niter: Sodium nitrate (NaNO3) and potassium nitrate (KNO3) are powerful oxidising
agents which melt at 340°C. At low temperature, niter melts without alteration but at
500° to 600°C, it decomposes, driving off oxygen that oxidises sulphur and many metals
including lead, iron, and copper. Niter addition should be kept at a minimum because

METL111.DOC PROCESS MANUAL 1 JUN 04

 11.1
PAGE 8 OF 9

the liberated oxygen causes a vigorous foaming reaction and can cause the crucible to
overflow. It also oxidises the crucible, thereby reducing crucible life.
Silica: Silicon dioxide (SiO2) melts at 1,750°C and is the most acidic melt reagent
available. Silica combines readily with metal oxides to form silicates. Silica-based
slags are viscous and hold metal prills in suspension. Melting silica with borax forms
borosilicate glasses. Borosilicate glasses still dissolve base metal oxides but are more
fluid than molten silicates. Silica also helps balance the acid-base content of the slag.
Soda Ash: Sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) is an oxidising agent which performs the
same function as niter.
Fluorspar: Calcium fluoride (CaF2), also known as fluorite, is often added for in-
creased fluidity of the slag.
The precise amount of total flux and of each component of the flux depends on the
amount of base metal contaminants. An example flux mix and dosage is provided
here, but may be different based on actual experience at the Tulawaka plant.
The flux used in the smelting furnace is premixed and contains approximately 45 per-
cent borax, 20 percent niter, 30 percent fluorspar, and 5 percent silica. The dried
sludge mixed with the flux make up the smelting furnace charge. The weight of the
flux is 10 percent of the weight of the dried sludge. After a furnace and crucible pre-
heat time of approximately 90 minutes, the charge is added to the crucible. The charge
is melted at a temperature of about 1,100°C. As the charge begins to melt, contaminants
oxidise and precious metals reduce to their metallic state. The oxidised contaminants
form silicates with the silica and become part of the slag. Slag rises to the top of the cru-
cible. An initial pour onto slag trays removes most of the slag.
The furnace is a diesel-fired tilting gold smelting furnace with a high-pressure air as-
pirated burner. An illustration of a tilting gold smelting furnace may be found in Fig-
ure 11.4.
FIGURE 11.4
TILTING GOLD SMELTING FURNACE

METL111.DOC PROCESS MANUAL 1 JUN 04

 11.1
PAGE 9 OF 9

Just prior to the bullion pour, samples are taken. The bullion is poured into moulds.
After the moulds have cooled enough to handle, the bars are removed and placed in a
quench bath. Residual slag is hammered from the bullion bars. The bars are then
weighed, sampled, stamped for identification, and placed in the vault ready for ship-
ment.
PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
TILTING GOLD SMELTING FURNACE
The smelting furnace is a refractory-lined, tilting vessel which holds a removable
silicon carbide and graphite crucible. One diesel burner is inserted through the
furnace shell and refractory lining. The area between the crucible and the
refractory lining is the firebox and contains the combustion gases from the burner.
The burner has no blower and uses high-pressure compressed combustion air.
The furnace lid swings out of the way to allow charging of the crucible. An
exhaust hole in the lid allows the spent combustion gases to escape from the
furnace. After the sludge and flux charge melt, the furnace can be tilted using
the tilting hand crank to pour the charge into moulds.
There is a gold room sump, with a gold trap and sump pump. The gold trap is used to
allow any metal or sludge to collect in the base of the sump, while solution is decan-
ted into the pump sump. The gold room sump pump is an air-operated double dia-
phragm pump. The pump discharges into the leach feed distribution box.

METL111.DOC PROCESS MANUAL 1 JUN 04