Paper – 360

ALBION PROCESS CAPABILITIES FOR PROCESSING OF FEED MATERIALS DIFFERENT IN THEIR

COMPOSITION

A.Y. Senchenko*, A.V. Aksenov, A.A. Vasiliev, and Y.G. Seredkin

Institute TOMS Ltd
Postal address: Lermontov Street, 83/1, P.O. Box. 83, 664074, Irkutsk, Russia.
Ph.: +7 3952 405 673, Fax: +7 3952 405 300.
(*Corresponding author: senchenko@tomsmineral.ru)

ABSTRACT

The valuable materials resulting from the processing of gold-bearing ores are often refractory to direct gold
recovery through cyanidation. There are multiple methods for chemical liberation of gold prior to cyanidation such as
pressure and biological oxidation as well as atmospheric oxidation which is typically used in combination with
physical activation of material by ultrafine grinding such as the Albion Process TM. This paper will examine the data
from process testworks carried out to estimate the efficiency of the Albion Process™ for the oxidation of materials
with a wide composition range prior to cyanidation. The data will be compared to that obtained by direct cyanidation
of the feed (without oxidation) and from the testing of pressure oxidation on the feed prior to cyanidation. Albion
Process™ tests were conducted in Institute TOMS with participation of Glencore Technology Pty Ltd (Australia).
Refractory concentrates obtained from the ores of several Russian and CIS deposits were used as feed for the testing.
These concentrates were also subjected to a material composition study and testing using conventional recovery
methods. The resulted test data make it possible to perform an integrated assessment of process properties for
materials with different compositions, compare performance of various process flowsheets for the materials under
study, and conclude on efficiency of Albion Process™ application for gold recovery from refractory materials
different in their composition.

KEY WORDS

Gold, zinc, copper, refractory concentrate, Albion Process, atmospheric oxidation, leaching.

INTRODUCTION

It is often the case that gold ore concentrates are refractory to gold recovery by direct cyanidation. This
refractory nature is as a rule attributable to fine gold dissemination in minerals, most often in pyrite and other
sulphides, as well as to the increased amount of components impeding cyanide leaching of gold due to cyanide
consumption and reducing process conditions.
The refractoriness of the concentrates results in low gold recovery values when conventional cyanidation
technology is used. In this context, various additional processes are applied to breakdown such refractory sulphide
concentrates, i.e. mechanical breakdown (fine and ultrafine grinding), chemical breakdown (atmospheric oxidation,
e.g. Leachox, acid-oxygen oxidation, pressure oxidation – POX, bacterial oxidation – BIOX), and thermochemical
breakdown (various roasting methods). Such breakdown processes allow for increase in recovery of finely
disseminated gold during the downstream cyanidation, however, their application is cost-intensive and does not
always ensure economic benefit.
Albion Process™ was developed by Glencore Technology Pty Limited, Australia. The process has been
applied for refractory gold for Panterra Gold at Las Lagunas in Dominican Republic and for GeoProMining Gold at
Ararat in Armenia. The process combines ultrafine grinding with atmospheric oxidation for treatment of refractory
gold-bearing concentrates. It can be used as well to process zinc, lead-zinc, nickel, cobalt and refractory copper
concentrates. Figure 1 shows a generalised flowsheet for processing of a refractory sulphide gold concentrate with the
use of the Albion ProcessTM .

Limestone, lime
Concentrate Ultrafine grinding Albion oxidation
O2

Final products Cyanidation Tailings

Figure 1 – Flowsheet for the gold concentrate treatment using Albion technology

The first stage of the Albion Process™ is ultrafine grinding of a concentrate to a size depending on the
mineral type. For example pyrite is usually ground to between 80% passing 10 and 14 m whereas sphalerite is
usually ground to between 80% passing 16 to 20 m. Ultrafine grinding is best performed in the IsaMill TM because
internal functioning of the mill imparts a classification action with oversize particles recycled internally and only on-
specification particles discharged. This renders a narrow produce size distribution quantified by the coarse size index
(CSI) which is the ratio of particles passing 98% to passing 80%. The narrow size distribution maximizes leach
performance. Ultrafine grinding leads to significant increase in mineral surface area, high degree of strain is
introduced into mineral lattice augmenting the number of grain boundary fractures. Ultrafine grinding also prevents
passivation of the sulphide minerals by products of the leach reaction since the mineral particles will disintegrate prior
to the precipitate layer becoming thick enough to passivate the mineral.
Oxidative leaching in specially designed agitated vessels (the Albion Leach Reactors) is the next stage of the
process. Agitation is supplied using dual hydrofoil impellers, and oxygen is introduced to the leach slurry at
supersonic velocity to improve efficiency of sulphide oxidation through the HyperSparge TM. The reactor operates
under conditions close to the boiling point of the slurry requiring neither external heating nor cooling systems.
For the oxidation of pyrite in the gold application, limestone is dosed into the Albion Process TM reactors to
maintain constant pH in the leaching process at near neutral conditions. Sulphuric acid resulted from the sulphide
minerals oxidation is neutralized, and sulphur is removed from the solution and then precipitated as gypsum. The
sulphur removal allows oxidizing sulphide minerals with formation of sulphate, not elemental sulphur that even in
small amounts impacts adversely the downstream cyanide leaching of gold because of cyanide-ions uptake and
generation of thiocyanates.
 Thus, the Albion process™ makes the concentrate pass through the stages of mechanical and chemical
breakdown liberating finely disseminated gold from sulphide minerals without accumulation of elemental sulphur,
which allows the concentrate to be more favourable to the subsequent cyanidation (Senchenko et al., 2016).
For a number of zinc ores it is quite difficult to produce a saleable concentrate using conventional processes
due to the fine size of sphalerite grains and their tight association with other minerals. Usually processing of those
ores implies application of ultrafine grinding methods somewhere in the mineral processing circuit, and the resulting
concentrates also have a fine particle size. Without liberation from ultrafine grinding, the concentrates will have a
relatively low zinc content (20–30%). Use of the Albion Process™ for these concentrates is an efficient alternative to
the conventional methods of zinc recovery. The main difference is that in the zinc system (or any base metals) the
process is operated under acidic conditions rather than at near neutral to ensure the solubility of the valuable metals.
The Albion Process™ is promising for copper recovery from sulphide concentrates as well. The benefits of
the process (along with gold bearing refractory and other base metal concentrates) are the relatively low CAPEX and
OPEX and high level of the subsequent recovery (including associated precious metals) which renders the Albion
ProcessTM technology amenable to application in copper production.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The efficiency of the Albion ProcessTM atmospheric leaching was proved through testing of two gold bearing
sulphide concentrates and one zinc concentrate.

Gold bearing concentrate testing

Tables 1 and 2 present mineral and chemical compositions of two refractory gold concentrates tested in
Institute TOMS.

Table 1 – Gold bearing concentrates chemical composition

Mass fraction, %
Element/component
Concentrate 1 Concentrate 2
SiО2 11.5 15.7
Al2О3 2.7 3.21
MgО 0.57 1.36
CaО 0.58 3.47
Fe 37.5 32.7
S 38.8 34.0
As 10.8 4.96
Sb 0.078 0.103
Cu 0.114 0.108
Pb 0.03 0.03
Zn 0.034 0.52
Ag g/t 11.7 7.93
Au g/t 27.1 41.4
 Table 2 – Gold bearing concentrates mineral composition
Mass fraction, %
Mineral
Concentrate 1 Concentrate 2
Quartz 8 13
Carbonates 1 9
Mica, clay 6 6
Other gangue minerals – 3
Pyrite 62 53
Arsenopyrite 23 11
Other ore-forming minerals – 2
Accessory minerals – 3
Total 100 100

Iron and sulphur dominate in chemical composition of the both concentrates with their total content 76% and
67% respectively. Significant amount of arsenic was detected as well – about 11% and 5%. Gangue components
amount to 16% and 25% of the concentrates mass.
Gold grade of the concentrates is 27.1 and 41.4 g/t respectively, which is acceptable to process the
concentrates using specific breakdown methods.
The main mineral in the concentrates is pyrite that, coupled with arsenopyrite, makes up to 85% and 64% of
the concentrates mass.
To investigate gold deportment in the concentrates they were subjected to mineralogical study using an
automated mineralogical system Qemscan under SMS (Specific Mineral Search) mode. The results indicated that all
the gold discovered in Concentrate 1 is in the form of finely dispersed inclusions predominantly in association with
pyrite. No gold inclusions were detected in arsenopyrite nor in other ore minerals.
Study of Concentrate 2 showed that partially gold occurs in its free form (46.6%) and in associations with
pyrite, arsenopyrite and carbonates. Figure 2 demonstrates distribution of the associated gold over minerals.

Concentrate 1 Concentrate 2
Figure 2 – Gold in association with minerals in the concentrates

Figure 3 shows pictures of gold particles that are locked in pyrite and that are edging associations with pyrite
in Concentrate 1. Gold particles in association with pyrite and arsenoyrite in Concentrate 2 are shown in Figure 4.
 Figure 3 – Gold particle in Concentrate 1: gold association with pyrite

Au
Au

Pyrite Pyrite
Arsenopyrite

Figure 4 – Gold particles in Concentrate 2: gold association with pyrite and arsenopyrite

The Albion ProcessTM testing of the refractory sulphide concentrates was carried out in Institute TOMS under
guidance of Glencore Technology. For the purposes of initial amenability testing of the Albion Process TM on the
subject concentrates, the concentrates were ground very fine to remove grind size as a factor in potential maximum
leach performance. As a result, Concentrates 1 and 2 were finely ground to final size of P 80 7 μm and 10 μm
respectively. Grind size is then optimized during later testwork phases. Atmospheric leaching of the ground
concentrates was run in a special reactor at continuous oxygen supply and strict maintenance of the designed pH level
due to dosing of limestone slurry in the process. For the purposes of obtaining preliminary design data, the tests are
run for 72 hours to gather sufficient kinetic data and optimize sulphide oxidation against gold recovery. The residence
time of the process is then selected based on testwork performance and optimized in combination with grind size in
subsequent testwork phases.
The Albion Process™ testing indicated the degree of the sulphide oxidation as 60% for both the concentrates.
Aiming at gold recovery the products resulted from oxidative leaching were subjected to cyanidation. Figure 5
illustrates the gold recovery as function of Albion ProcessTM leaching residence time and against the sulphide
oxidation kinetics for Concentrate 2. The curves shows the logical increase in gold recovery level with increase in
sulphide oxidation degree, although the benefit of 50% oxidation compared to 60% oxidation would require further
evaluation.

100
90
Au recovery through cyanidation, %
Degree of sulphide oxidation, %

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 12 24 36 48 60 72
Testwork duration, h
Sulphides oxidation level Gold recovery by cyanidation

Figure 5 – Sulphide oxidation kinetics and gold recovery through cyanidation vs. testwork duration

With a view to compare the process performance reached using various technologies, the as-received
concentrates and the concentrates after ultrafine grinding were subjected to cyanidation (CIL). Pressure oxidation
(POX) tests were done on the as-received concentrates as well. Tables 3 and 4 summarize the key process parameters
and gold recovery values obtained for the concentrates using different processing flowsheets.

Table 3 – Parameters of various technologies for processing of Concentrate 1

Parameter CIL UFG + CIL POX + CIL Albion + CIL
90 90
Grind size P80, μm 5 7
(as-received conc.) (as-received conc.)
Oxidation temperature, °C – – 210 95
Residence time, h – – 1 48
Sulphide oxidation degree, % – – 98 59
Au recovery by cyanidation, % 26.2 30.3 97.5 95.2

Table 4 – Parameters of various technologies for processing of Concentrate 2

Parameter CIL UFG + CIL POX + CIL Albion + CIL
13 13
Grind size P80, μm 10 10
(as-received conc.) (as-received conc.)
Oxidation temperature, °C – – 210 95
Residence time, h – – 1 72
Sulphide oxidation degree, % – – 91 60
Au recovery by cyanidation, % 55.9 58.0 95.5 93.5
 Cyanidation without application of any special methods of gold liberation from sulphides resulted in low
gold recoveries – 26% and 56%. Ultrafine grinding of the concentrates prior to the cyanidation did not provide for the
desired improvement either. Gold recovery increased just by 2–4%.
The Albion ProcessTM applied for processing of the refractory sulphide concentrates allowed us to reach high
gold recovery by the downstream cyanidation. Gold recovery of 93–95% was obtained at 60% level of sulphide
oxidation that runs under atmospheric pressure. The process is allowed to operate autothermally and temperature in
plant reactors is maintained by heat emitted from the sulphide oxidation reaction. POX technology enables over 90%
sulphide oxidation of the concentrates; however, it implies quite “aggressive” conditions – very high temperature and
pressure, and gold recovery by the subsequent CIL process increased by about 2% against the recovery values
obtained from the Albion flowsheet. One main difference between the processes is the oxidation extent required to
achieve acceptable gold recovery. Since oxidation extent is a main driver of capital and operating cost for an oxidative
process, Albion ProcessTM (for this and many other reasons) has significant capital and operating cost advantages over
pressure leaching (Clary et al., 2018).
Comparison of the process results obtained using the various flowsheets under study allows us to estimate
efficiency of the Albion Process™ application for gold recovery from refractory materials.

Zinc concentrate testing

There are two dominant zinc production techniques applied globally: pyrometallurgy when under high
temperatures zinc transforms into a gas phase, and hydrometallurgy based on oxidative roasting of zinc concentrates
followed by leaching of the roasted product by sulphuric acid solution (Roast-Leach-Electrowin) where the RLE
process is by far the most dominant. The Albion Process™ allowing direct leaching of concentrates may be used as an
alternative to the conventional zinc production technologies; the process has already proved its efficiency at plants in
Germany and Spain achieving greater than 99% zinc recovery from concentrate.
A low-grade zinc concentrate was tested using the Albion Process™ in the Institute TOMS laboratory.
Tables 5 and 6 show mineralogical and chemical compositions of the concentrate. The as-received size of the
concentrate was P80 44 µm.

Table 5 – Zn concentrate mineral composition

Mineral Mass fraction, %
Gangue minerals
Quartz 28.0
Dolomite 7.2
Mica 3.5
Ore-forming minerals
Sphalerite 35.5
Smithsonite, secondary Zn minerals 1.3
Pyrite 18.3
Galena 4.2
Arsenopyrite 0.2
Copper sulphide 0.3
Iron hydroxide 1.1
Accessory minerals
Carbonaceous matter 0.4
Total 100
 Table 6 – Zn concentrate chemical composition
Element/component Mass fraction, % Element/component Mass fraction, %
SiО2 29.4 Fesulphide 8.6
Al2О3 1.4 Stotal 22.4
MgО 1.6 Ssulphate 0.2
CaО 2.2 As 0.11
Ctotal 1.3 Cu 0.12
Ccarbonate 0.9 Pb 3.7
Fetotal 9.3 Zn 24.5

The concentrate under study is characterized by low Zn content – 24.5%. Over 97% of this zinc is
represented by sulphide (sphalerite). Sphalerite of minus 20 µm size amounts to 89.6% and 61.5% of sphalerite is
finer than 10 µm. Free and liberated sphalerite grains account for about 50%. The other sphalerite grains are in
associations with predominantly such minerals as quartz, pyrite, and galena (Figure 6).

q q

py

spl q gn
spl

spl spl

Figure 6 – Associations of sphalerite (spl) with quartz (q), pyrite (py) and galena (gn)

The Albion ProcessTM leaching tests were carried out at various initial sizes of the concentrate. Based on the
test results the concentrate grind size of P80 16 µm was chosen as optimal one. This size of the concentrate allows for
almost complete Zn recovery into solution at minimal energy consumption by grinding. Moreover, increase in the
concentrate size leads to reduction of the oxidized iron sulphide portion and to decrease in sulphur transfer into
solution, that, in its turn, have positive effect on oxygen requirements for the leaching.
Table 7 summarize the key parameters of Zn leaching by Albion technology obtained for the optimal process
conditions.

Table 7 – Zn leaching performances, Albion process

Parameter Value
Leach cake yield, % 64.89
Zn content in the head concentrate, % 24.5
Zn content in the leach cake, % 0.041
Zn recovery into solution, % 99.89
Sulphuric acid dosing (plant scale), kg/t of concentrate 145
Limestone dosing for hydrolytic purification treatment of leach solutions after
120
Albion ProcessTM, kg/t of concentrate
Oxygen rate (plant scale), kg/t of concentrate 110
Energy required to grind the concentrate (plant scale) kg/t of concentrate 17

Principal flowsheet incorporating Albion technology to process the zinc concentrate is demonstrated in figure
7.

Concentrate Ultrafine grinding

Sulphuric acid
Zn leaching
O2

Hydrolytic
Limestone
treatment

Solution purification
Final products and Zn precipitation
Filtration Tailings

Figure 7 – Flowsheet for the zinc concentrate treatment using Albion technology

The performed zinc leaching tests indicated that the Albion Process™ could be efficient for treatment of zinc
concentrates with low metal content (24.5%). Zinc recovery into solution resulted from the tests was over 99.5% at
moderate amounts of energy consumed by grinding of the concentrate
(17 kW∙h/t) and oxygen supplied into zinc leaching (110 kg/t).
Application of Albion ProcessTM oxidation allows for efficient production of cathode zinc directly at a plant
processing refractory zinc ores. In this way expenditures on dewatering and transportation of a low-grade zinc
concentrate can be avoided, which is specific for deposits remote from transport routes and metallurgical zinc plants.

Copper concentrate testing

There is a number of conventional processes to recover copper from sulphide concentrates including
pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy. These technologies provide for high levels of copper recovery, but at the same
time, they have some disadvantages such as high cost of equipment, high operational costs, under-recovery of certain
components etc.
Over the past several years, Institute TOMS has performed complex metallurgical testworks of copper ores
from deposits in Russia and Kazakhstan. The Albion Process™ testwork implying oxidative leaching of copper from
a sulphide copper concentrate was accomplished for one of the deposits. The testing indicated that the Albion leaching
allowed for recovery of over 98% of copper into solution, and the copper retained in the residue could be easily
recovered by flotation. The detailed test outcomes will be presented in a separate paper. In this way, having a great
potential for treatment of sulphide copper concentrates, the Albion Process TM technology represents an alternative to
the existing processes due to its above-mentioned benefits and potentially higher recovery of the associated
components.

CONCLUSIONS

The process properties estimation performed for the gold-bearing concentrates and comparison of the process
data resulted from the tests using different flowsheets indicated a high efficiency of the Albion Process™ application
for gold recovery from refractory sulphide concentrates. Albion Process TM allows obtaining high gold recovery of 93–
95% by the downstream cyanidation.
High performances and successful practice of the Albion Process TM technology for gold concentrates
processing point at potential of this process for treatment of refractory products. The profits of the Albion Process TM
imply minimization of CAPEX and OPEX аs well as the absence of limits in terms of production volume, i.e. the
process can be implemented even at small-volume productions and in small modules minimizing project risk. The
GeoProMining Gold plant in Armenia is operating at 60% sulphide oxidation and greater than 95% gold recovery.
The Albion Process™ has also proved its high efficiency for low-grade zinc concentrates, zinc recovery
amounted to 99.5%. This enables introducing refractory zinc concentrates into processing, which earlier was
impossible in view of unprofitability and unfeasibility of the concentrates treatment using conventional methods.
The Albion ProcessTM hydrometallurgical technology has also shown itself as quite promising for processing
of copper concentrates.

REFERENCE LIST

1. Senchenko A.Y., Aksenov A.V., Vasiliev A.A., & Seredkin Y.G. Technology for processing of refractory
gold-containing concentrates based on ultrafine grinding and atmospheric oxidation. IMPC 2016: XXVIII
International Mineral Processing Congress, September 11-16, Quebec City.
2. Voigt P., Hourn M., Mallah D. & Turner D. Commissioning and Ramp-up of the Albion Process at the
GPM Gold Project, ALTA 2015.