Hydrometallurgy, 26 ( 1991 ) 61-74 61

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam

The effect of lead on the cementation of gold by

zinc

M.T. Oo and T. Tran*

Department of Mineral Processingand Extractive Metallurgy, School of Mines, The University of New
South Wales,Kensington, N.S. W., Australia
(Received August 10, 1989; revision accepted April 9, 1990)

ABSTRACT

Oo, M.T. and Tran, T., 1991. The effect of lead on the cementation of gold by zinc. Hydrometallurgy,
26: 61-74.

Rotating disc electrodes were used to evaluate the effect of lead on the two half-cells involved in the
cementation process: gold reduction and zinc dissolution. Evans diagrams constructed from the cur-
rent-potential curves show that the cementation process is controlled by the diffusion of gold cyanide
ions to the zinc surface (activation energy of 2.55 kcal/mol). The initial rates of cementation pre-
dicted from the Evans diagrams were not affected by lead addition. These rates were also confirmed
from experiments in which zinc discs were used to cement gold from different solutions. At 10 °C the
addition of lead (at 3 ppm) would improve the cementation process by extending the diffusion zone
for the reaction. At 40°C and in the presence of lead the hydrogen overpotential was increased, lead-
ing to a decrease in the zinc corrosion. The deposit morphology also changed as a result of lead addi-
tion which in some cases affect the cementation kinetics.

INTRODUCTION

Cementation or metal displacement is an electrochemical process in which

a more noble metal ion is recovered from an aqueous solution by a less noble
precipitant. The reaction has been widely used in hydrometallurgical process-
ing for the recovery of copper, gold and silver [ 1-4 ]. Considerable research
has been carried out to determine the characteristics and mechanisms of dif-
ferent cementation reactions and this has been reviewed on several occasions
[5-8].
The gold cementation process has been evaluated in several fundamental
studies. Nicol et al. [ 4 ] studied the electrochemical reactions involved in ce-
mentation and concluded that for free cyanide concentrations below 0.002 M
zinc will be passivated by the formation of zinc hydroxide. The reaction was

*To whom correspondence should be addressed.

0304-386X/91/$03.50 © 1991 - - Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

62 M.T. OO AND T. TRAN

found to be controlled by the mass transport of aurocyanide ions onto the zinc
surface.
The effect of lead in the cementation process has also been evaluated. There
seems to be conflicting information on the role of lead in enhancing the ce-
mentation kinetics. Nicol et al. [4] have shown that an addition of 5 p p m
lead nitrate results in a 30% increase in the reaction rate if gold is present at
about 5 ppm. However the addition of an excessive amount of lead ( 1-10
p p m ) when gold is at a lower concentration range (0.02-0.55 p p m ) inhibits
the cementation process, probably due to the high overpotential for nucleat-
ing gold on the lead surface according to Nicol et al. [4]. Paul [9] stressed
that with barren solutions with a concentration of gold higher than 1-5 ppm,
the addition of lead nitrate may be unnecessary. Also, for concentrated solu-
tions of a few hundred p p m of gold at 50°C only a slight improvement in gold
recovery was observed upon the addition of 6 p p m lead. Under no other con-
ditions (lower or the same gold concentrations at lower temperatures) was
the addition of lead found to be beneficial [ 10 ]. Miller et al. [ 11 ], from their
study using zinc powder, found that the overall cementation rate is dependent
on the gold concentration in the solution. Aggregation of the deposit causes
blockage of the zinc surface and inhibits the reaction kinetics.
Under de-oxygenated conditions, the half-cell reactions involved in the ce-
mentation process can be represented as:
Cathodic
2HzO+2e--,Hz+2OH- E°=-0.83V
Au(CN)~- + e - - - , A u + 2 C N - E°=-0.62 V
Anodic
Zn+4CN-~Zn(CN)42-+2e- E°=-1.35V
Most cementation reactions are found to be first-order [5,6] and con-
trolled by mass transfer in the aqueous phase with apparent activation energy
values in the range 2-6 kcal/mol. Power and Ritchie [ 12,13 ] studied the ce-
mentation reactions using Evans diagrams to show that the initial reaction
rates and reactions could be derived from the two half-cell reactions pre-
sented in these plots.
By using a rotating disc electrode to cement gold from different solutions
the kinetics of the reaction can also be evaluated. The reaction rate is repre-
sented by the equation:
In{ [Au ],/[Au]o} = - k c ( A / V ) t ( 1)
where:
[Au], =gold concentration at time t, mol/1
[Au ] 0 = initial gold concentration at t = 0, m o l / l
EFFECT OF LEAD ON THE CEMENTATION OF GOLD BY ZINC 63

kc = kinetic rate constant, c m / s

A = surface area of zinc disc, cm 2
V = volume of the solution, cm 3
Under laminar flow conditions, with a rotating disc electrode, the rate con-
stant can also be predicted from the Levich equation:
kv =0.62D2/3vTl/6co-l/2=iLnF[Au] (2)
where:
DT = diffusion coefficient of gold cyanide at temperature T, cm2/s
PT --kinematic viscosity of solution at temperature T, cm2/s
09 = angular rotation speed, rad/s
iL = limiting current density for the reduction of gold cyanide, m A / c m 2
F = Faraday constant, 96500 C / m o l
n --number of electrons involved in the reaction
[Au] = concentration of gold cyanide, m o l / l
The two techniques were used in this study to evaluate the kinetics of gold
cementation onto zinc. The effect of lead on the reaction rate and on the de-
posit morphology was also studied.

EXPERIMENTAL METHOD

Reagents

All the reagents used were of analytical grade and the synthetic gold solu-
tions were prepared by dissolving gold powder (99.99%, 300 mesh) in alka-
line cyanide.

Apparatus and equipment

The current-potential curves for gold reduction and zinc dissolution were
obtained using a BAS CV-27 voltammograph, a Pine Instrument rotating disc
electrode system and a YEW-3086 X-Y recorder. An atomic absorption spec-
trophotometer was used to determine the gold and zinc concentration of the
samples from the different cementation experiments. A scanning electron mi-
croscope (JEOL JXA-840 Scanning Microanalyser) was used to evaluate the
deposit morphology.

Methods

The electrochemical experiments to produce the current-potential curves

were carried out using high purity gold and zinc rotating disc electrodes which
have surface areas of 0.385 cm 2 and 0.031 cm 2, respectively. The electrolytes
were purged with oxygen-free high purity nitrogen prior to the experiments.
64 M.T. OO AND T. TRAN

A conventional three-electrode configuration with a carbon counter electrode

and saturated calomel reference electrode was used for this study. All the po-
tentials were quoted with respect to the saturated calomel electrode (SCE).
The results reported in this paper are for the electrolytes containing 0.05 M
potassium cyanide and 2-4 m M potassium hydroxide at pH 11.2, unless oth-
erwise stated. Cementation experiments were conducted with pure rotating
disc electrodes which have a surface area of 7.07 cm 2 and rotated at 1000 rpm
in a 1 I reactor. Samples were taken at 10 or 20 min intervals for gold and zinc
analysis in order to determine the rates of gold cementation and zinc
dissolution.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Electrochemical m e a s u r e m e n t s

The current-potential curves for the cathodic reduction of gold cyanide onto
a gold rotating disc electrode were determined at different gold concentra-
tions, temperatures and rotation speeds. Figure 1 shows the scans for gold
reduction from a solution of 0.05 M K C N , 4 m M K O H , pH 11.2 and 2.5 m M
( 500 p p m ) Au at 40 oC. The effect of increasing lead from 0 to 10 p p m (added
as lead nitrate) is clearly shown. Without lead the deposition of gold is not
well separated from the hydrogen evolution (on a gold surface) and the dif-
fusion current for gold reduction is not easily determined (curve 1 ). When a
small a m o u n t of lead is added (curve 2), the kinetic-controlled region of gold
deposition (A) is greatly affected. The reaction is shifted to a more anodic
direction at 1-3 p p m lead addition. If there is more than 3 p p m of lead, no
significant change was observed in this region.

1.5
- 1 : 0 p p m Pb 2÷
2 : 1 ppm I 2 34C
3:3ppm /////~
:Tp~m /// // B
1.0 5 : 10ppm , ~

v
3.~/D /
-O , # #'-/1 {KCN] : 0.05M
o.s "ll F : <.OmM
II I [Au(ON)2-]= 25mM
f~ p.,,,2.,o°c
~/ RDE areo : O385cm2
speed. 1,000 rpm

- 05 - 1.0 - 1.5 - 2£)

E vs SCE (V)
Fig. 1. Current-potential scans for gold reduction from a solution of 0.05 M KCN, 4 mM KOH
showing the effect of lead additions from 0 to 10 ppm Pb 2+.
EFFECT OF LEAD ON THE CEMENTATION OF GOLD BY ZINC 65

The separation of the gold deposition reaction from hydrogen evolution

(B) is enhanced as more lead is added into the solution. Although gold is
known as a good substrate for hydrogen evolution, a small amount of lead on
its surface (either deposited or adsorbed from the 1- 10 ppm lead in this study )
significantly changes this characteristic (lead is known to have a high hydro-
gen overpotential). Hydrogen evolves at a more negative potential (shifted
by - 150 mV) when 10 ppm of lead are added. At lower temperatures ( 10 °C
and 20°C) the cathodic shift of the hydrogen evolution reaction is slightly
less than 100 mV when the same amount of lead is added.
The presence of lead in the electrolyte only slightly affects zinc dissolution.
The Evans diagrams constructed from continuous i - E plots for gold deposi-
tion and zinc dissolution under conditions as shown in Fig. 2 clearly show the
effect of lead on the cementation process. In the absence of lead in the solu-
tion, the cementation process takes place within the hydrogen evolution zone
(A). When 3 ppm lead is added the cementation process should be more ef-
ficient (less zinc consumption) when hydrogen evolves at a more cathodic
potential. The cementation process now takes place within the diffusion-con-
trolled zone for gold deposition (B).
Similar Evans diagrams were constructed for different cementation condi-
tions to evaluate the effect of lead at three gold concentrations (5, 50 and 500
ppm) and three temperatures ( 10 ° C, 20 ° C and 40 ° C). Figures 2, 3 and 4
show typical results, which clearly indicate the two important roles of lead
during cementation:
(a) At 40 °C lead lowers the cementation potential. When gold is present
in a high concentration (500 ppm) lead does not seem to affect the cemen-

Current density, mA/cm2

001 0.1 1.0

50 ppm Au, 40"C
-0-8 o - 0 ppm PlY
2.
D- 3ppm Pb2+
-0-9 Au(CN~* e ~ A u *2CN-

-1.0
;>
\\
-1.1

-1.2
o/o/C
-1.3 B~X ~ / ~/'
-14 Zn • 4 CN --~. Zn(CN 2e \o

-1.5

Fig. 2. Evans diagram for the cementation process at 0.05 M KCN, 4 m M KOH.
66 M . T . O O A N D T. T R A N

Current d e n s i t y , m A / c m 2

0.1 1.0 10.0

500 ppm Au, 40 C

-0-8 o 0 ppm Pb2 .
Au(CN)2 + e ~ Au + 2CN-
[] 3 ppm Pb 2.
-0.9

-1.0 o~ \
o
-~.1 \o~
\ I

-1-2 oo o
o~,~
~ ~'~ ~o /
-1.3

-1.4 Zn. 4 CN----~ Zn(CN)42-* 2 e ~\

-t5
k
o

0.001 0.01 0-1

5 ppm Au, 40 C
-0.8 o 0 ppm Pb2+
o 3 ppm Pb 2*
-0.9 AuICN} 2 * e ~ Au * 2 CN-
........... o
\
-1.0 ON
..... O~ O
\\
-1.1 o ok

-1.~

-1.."
O~

-1 .z Zn + 4 CN'~ Z n ( C N ) 2-÷ 2e
~o
-1.5

Fig. 3. Evans diagrams for the cementation process at 0.05 M KCN, 4 mM KOH, 40 ° C for: (a)
500 ppm Au, (b) 5 ppm Au.

tation process greatly (Fig. 3a) as the reaction is within the diffusion-con-
trolled zone for gold reduction. (The secondary effect of lead on the kinetics
as a result of the morphology change is discussed later. ) However as the gold
concentration is lowered to 5 ppm, the effect of lead in decreasing the hydro-
gen evolution rate (from zone A to B) is clearly shown in Fig. 3b. The typical
behaviour shown in Fig. 3b was also observed for a 50 ppm gold solution with
similar KCN and KOH concentrations.
(b) At a lower temperature (10°C) the cementation process takes place
EFFECT OF LEAD ON THE CEMENTATION OF GOLD BY ZINC 67

Current density, mA/cm 2

0.01 0.1 1-0

500 ppm Au, 10"C

-0.~ o 0 ppm Pb2+
o 3 pprn Pb2.
-0.£
Au(CN)2 * e ~ Au + 2 CN-

>
-1.C "o~ O\o \
°~ °
[3
-1,1
~'o \o
> -1.2 ~o \o __o / /o
~ 0 n 0/ 0

~1.3

-1. L Zn , & CN-~ZnICN)2-÷ 2e \ t

-1.5

b 001 0- 01 0.1

5 ppm Au, 10"C

-0-8 o 0 ppm Pb2+
o 3 ppm Pb2+
-O.g

-14] AuICN)2 + e ~ Au +2CN-

-1-1 \

............... o o

-1.3

- 2- \
Z n ÷ 4CN---.,ZnlCN] 4 ÷ 2e

Fig. 4. Evans diagrams for the cementation process at 0.05 M K C N , 4 n ~ l / / K O H , 10 ° C for: ( a )

500 ppm Au, (b) 5 ppm Au.

well within the gold reduction zone, indicating that hydrogen evolution is not
as severe as at higher temperatures. There seems to be an indication that when
3 ppm lead are added the cementation process is maintained in the diffusion
zone; this is because the gold reduction curve is shifted in a more anodic di-
rection (Figs. 4a and b). This implies that when the gold concentration drops
to a level lower than 5 ppm the addition of lead is vital to maintain the reac-
tion in the diffusion zone. At 5 ppm Au and 10 °C the two half-cell reactions
are about 150 m V apart. This potential difference will drop by 56 rnV at one
68 M.T. OO AND T, TRAN

order of magnitude decrease in gold concentration at 10 ° C. The reaction with

gold in the range 0.01-0.5 ppm would not proceed at a reasonable rate and
might cease if lead was not added to shift the gold reduction reaction in a
more anodic direction.

Effect of lead on gold cementation and zinc dissolution rates

The cementation reaction was conducted using a zinc rotating disc elec-
trode immersed in 1 1 of electrolyte (0.05 M K C N , 4 m M K O H and pH I 1.2 ).
The first-order kinetics are confirmed by the typical straight line plot of log
(concentration ratio) versus time as shown in Fig. 5a for experiments at 50
ppm Au or less. At higher gold concentrations the reaction did not proceed
0.00~
a

'~'" (ppm) 4 8Ru 50 8

-0.05

~ -0.10
4'

-0.15
0

-0.20

i
-0.25 i t i i
0 20 40 80 80 I00 120
Time, mln.

0.00
) ~ . o o ppm Pb
~ ~ 3 f:~m Pb

ft. -0.~

_~-0.40

1.477 ram (L~I ppm)

-0.80
KCN 0.0~ M, KOI4 0.00~ M
ROE a r ' l a :
~31. '4oi.
7,07
200 ml.
~ cm.
T2geK
1000 rpm \o
i I i

0 30 80 go IZ0
Tlnm, raln.

Fig. 5. Variation of log ( A u ) t~ (Au) o ratio with time.

EFFECT OF LEADON THE CEMENTATIONOF GOLD BY ZINC 69

further after 30 min in the absence of lead (Fig. 5b). A morphology study
subsequently showed that the zinc surface was completely blocked.
The values of the cementation rate constant (kc) calculated using eq. ( 1 ),
from experimental data recorded under a range of conditions, are shown in
Table 1. The values indicate that the presence of lead does not cause any sig-
nificant change in the cementation rate at gold concentrations of 50 p p m or
less. Table 1 also shows the predicted rate constant (kp) as measured from
the current-potential data given in eq. (2) for various conditions. The rate
constants measured by both techniques (kp and kc) agree well when the gold
concentration is 50 p p m or lower.
For a solution with 291 p p m Au, the reaction rate as predicted from Evans
diagrams is lower than the average rate measured in the linear zones of Fig.
5b. The following observations were made from this:
(a) At a high gold concentration the deposit on the zinc disc accumulates
quickly and blocks the zinc surface. The rate constant measured from the ce-
mentation experiment (kc) is lower than the predicted value from electro-
chemical measurements.
(b) The reaction almost stops after 30 min without lead addition. With 3
p p m lead, the cementation rate is improved (due to the change in morphol-
ogy as shown later) and the reaction is also extended to 90 min.
The effect of lead on the consumption of zinc is clearly shown in Table 2.
The zinc dissolution rates are constant throughout the 2 h tests (linear rela-

TABLE 1

Rate constants from cementation experiments (kc) and as predicted from Evans diagrams (kp)

Exp, Temp. Rotation [Au(1) ] P-,vX10 -2 kc)< 10 -2 kcx 10 -2 with

No. (K) speed, (ppm) (cm/s) (cm/s) Pb ( c m / s )
(rpm)

1 298 1000 291 0.78 0.56* 0.72**

2 293 1000 50.8 0.73 0.68 0.67
3 293 500 50.8 0.52
4 298 1000 50.0 0.78 0.73 0.77
5 298 500 50.0 0.55
6 304 1000 50.0 0.85 0.98 0.99
7 304 500 50.0 0.58
8 313 1000 50.0 0.93 0.95 1.00
9 313 500 50.0 0.66
10 293 1000 4.8 0.73 0.65 0.65
11 304 1000 4.8 0.85 0.82 0.82
12 313 1000 5.0 0.93 0.98 0.96

Conditions: 0.05 M K C N ; 2-4 m M K O H and pH 11.2.

*Rate constant for < 30 min.
**Rate constant for < 90 min.
70 M.T. OO AND T. TRAN

TABLE 2

Zinc dissolution rate at different conditions

Temp. [Au ( I ) ] [Pb (I1) ] Zn dissolution

(K) (ppm) (ppm) rate ( m g / h )

298 50.0 0 5.75

298 50.0 3 4.45
304 50.0 0 5.92
304 50.0 3 4.63
313 50.0 0 5.65
313 50.0 3 4.98
293 5.0 0 3.36
293 5.0 3 2.54
304 5.0 0 3.72
304 5.0 3 2.73
313 5.0 0 3.86
313 5.0 3 3.34

Conditions: 0.05 M KCN; 2 m M KOH; pH 11.2; Volume: 1000 ml; Zn disc area: 7.07 cm2; 1000 rpm.

tionships between zinc concentration and time). The average rates show a
decrease in zinc consumption at the addition of 3 p p m lead as lead nitrate.

Morphology study

Macroscopic examinations of the deposits cemented onto the zinc elec-

trodes at three different temperatures (25°C, 31 °C and 40°C) from the so-
lutions of 50 p p m Au showed the crucial role of lead in the cementation pro-
cess. The deposit from the solution containing 3 p p m lead is predominantly
metallic gold with localized dark grey zones. The same observations were made
by Paul and Paul and Howarth [9,10 ] regarding the macroscopic nature of
the gold deposit.
Scanning electron microscopic studies on the metallic gold area revealed
the formation of different types of deposit. The deposit formed from 500 p p m
Au solutions showed a complete coverage of the zinc surface by gold after 15
min with the gold crystals mostly smaller than 1/~m in size (Fig. 6a). Kinetic
measurements showed severe rate inhibition with this type of deposit as the
reaction came to a halt after 30 rain. At 3 p p m lead addition, crystal growth
predominantly formed clusters (Fig. 6b).
For a lower gold concentration (50 p p m ) the deposit structure is very sim-
ilar with or without lead addition. Zinc hydroxide is more prevalent on the
deposit surface as shown in Fig. 7a (zinc hydroxide is shown as non-crystal-
line dark grey masses). These grey masses were always observed on deposits
from the solutions containing no lead. When 3 p p m lead were added the zinc
hydroxide did not appear on the deposit surface. The c o m m o n dendritic for-
EFFECT OF LEAD ON THE CEMENTATION OF GOLD BY ZINC 71

Fig. 6. Scanning electron micrographs showing deposits formed from 500 ppm Au solutions at
25°C after 15 rain: (a) without Pb 2+, ( b ) + 3 ppm Pb 2+.

mation normally observed with deposition under diffusion-controlled condi-

tions in other studies was not observed in the gold system. Gold crystals tend
to grow larger in size, suggesting that the cementation will be efficient as the
zinc surface will not be blocked. A matte metallic gold deposit was obtained
in all solutions containing 3 p p m lead as a result of this clustered gold crystal
formation.
Under conditions which increased hydrogen evolution, the deposit ap-
peared greyer, indicating the predominant formation of zinc hydroxide. Such
a formation reduces the anodic sites on the zinc surface and might explain the
aggregation of zinc particles as observed by Miller et al. [ 11 ].
The addition of lead therefore improves the morphology as a coarser de-
72 M.T. O O A N D T. T R A N

Fig. 7. Scanning electron micrographs showing deposits formed from 50 ppm Au at 20°C after
2 h: (a) without Pb 2+, ( b ) + 3 ppm Pb 2÷.

posit is formed. At a high gold concentrations, where the zinc surface is quickly
coated with the newly formed deposit, its coarseness prevents the rapid block-
age of the surface, thus extending the cementation process. The reaction rate
is increased as the coarser deposit also causes more turbulence near the dif-
fusion boundary. This effect is not clearly seen when gold is cemented from
the solutions containing 50 ppm Au or less in the kinetic studies, but becomes
more obvious as the gold concentration increases, as shown earlier.

CONCLUSIONS

The cementation of gold from different concentrations was evaluated at

0.05 M K C N , 2-4 m M K O H and pH 11.2. At 40°C the addition of 3 pm Pb
EFFECT OF LEAD ON THE CEMENTATION OF GOLD BY ZINC 73

does not vary the intrinsic kinetics of the cementation from 50 p p m Au solu-
tions. Also at this temperature hydrogen evolution becomes more severe which
increases the formation of zinc hydroxide. The addition of lead improves zinc
consumption and passivation of the precipitant surface is also minimized. At
10 ° C, where the potential difference of the two half-cell reactions is low, the
addition of lead maintains the cementation in the diffusion-controlled zone
and makes it more effective, especially when the gold concentration is 5 p p m
or lower. Coarser gold is formed in clusters rather than as a complete coating
on the zinc surface leading to an improvement in the reaction kinetics when
lead is added. This change in morphology is clearly observed at high gold
concentrations and the resulting improvement in the cementation was con-
firmed in the rate measurements. Without lead, gold easily blocks the zinc
surface, causing the reaction to stop after a short period. In all cases the ad-
dition of lead decreases the zinc corrosion by shifting hydrogen evolution in
a more cathodic direction.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We are grateful to the Australian International Development Assistance

Bureau for a scholarship to allow one of us (M. T. O. ) to pursue his postgrad-
uate study.

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