GRADUATE TRAINING SECTION REPORT

NAME MUTSVAIRO YEUKAI SHANTEL

SUPERVISOR MR T. CHIKOMO

DATE 18 January 2022

Contents
Crushing....................................................................................................................................4
Crushing at Freda Rebecca Gold Mine..................................................................................5
Process description............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5

The Secondary Crusher...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Parameters of the Crushing Section.................................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Shortcomings and Recommendations....................................................................................8

Elements of Health and Safety...............................................................................................9
Milling.....................................................................................................................................11
Factors Influencing the Size of the Product in a Mill...........................................................11
Milling at FRGM..................................................................................................................12
Classification...........................................................................................................................15
Gravity concentration...........................................................................................................15
Delkor screen.......................................................................................................................16
Dewatering cyclone..............................................................................................................16
Leaching..................................................................................................................................17
Factors Influencing the rate of leaching extraction..............................................................18
Particle Size..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19

Solvent............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 19

Temperature..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19

Agitation of the Fluid....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19

The process of Leaching................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19

Gold leaching process...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20

Cyanide leaching of gold.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 20

Leaching at Freda Rebecca Gold Mine (FRGM).................................................................21

Determination of Leaching Parameters at FRGM...............................................................25
Shortcomings and Recommendations..................................................................................27
Elements of safety health and environment.........................................................................27
Stripping or Elution...............................................................................................................28
Factors that Affect Elution...................................................................................................28
Elution of Gold.....................................................................................................................29
 Elution at Freda Rebecca Gold Mine...................................................................................31
Description of the Stages.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 31

The Mechanical Set-up of the Elution Section at FRGM.................................................................................................................................................. 32

Short-comings and Recommendations.............................................................................................................................................................................. 33

Smelting...................................................................................................................................34
Smelting activities as FRGM...............................................................................................34
Process description of smelting in the gold room at FRGM................................................36
Clearing of the banks (electrowinning cells)..................................................................................................................................................................... 36

Extraction of the electroplated metal from the cathodes.................................................................................................................................................... 37

Stripping.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 37

Acid digestion of the wire wool........................................................................................................................................................................................ 37

Preparation of the calcine................................................................................................................................................................................................. 39

Smelting........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 39

Conclusion and Recommendations......................................................................................41

Bibliography...........................................................................................................................41

TABLE OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Jaw Crusher................................................................................................................6

Figure 2: Cone Crusher..............................................................................................................7
Figure 3: Cataracting Zone.......................................................................................................13
Figure 4: Sag Mill....................................................................................................................14
Figure 5: Leaching Cycle.........................................................................................................21
Figure 6: Gold Room Cycle.....................................................................................................35
Figure 7: Gold Pouring.............................................................................................................40
Figure 8: Gold Bars..................................................................................................................40

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Set crusher gaps...........................................................................................................8
Table 2: Shortcoming and recommendations on crushing.........................................................9
Table 3: Elements of Safety and Health on Crushing..............................................................10
Table 4: Risk assessment.........................................................................................................18
Table 5: Leaching Parameters and Operating values...............................................................25
Table 6: Determination of Leaching Parameters at FRGM.....................................................26
Table 7: Shortcomings and Recommendations........................................................................28
Table 8: Operating conditions of The Elution Process............................................................33
Table 0.2: Differences between Steel Mesh and Wire Wool...................................................39
Crushing

In the materials processing industry, size reduction or comminution is usually carried out in order to
increase the surface area because, in most reactions involving solid particles, the rate of reactions is
directly proportional to the area of contact with another phase. On top of that, in mineral processing,
gold in particular, each particle size range has a particular grade. Many solid materials occur in sizes
that are too large to be used and must be reduced. Often the solids are reduced in size so that the
separation of various ingredients can be carried out. In general, the terms crushing and grinding, are
used to signify the subdividing of large solid particles to smaller particles.

The success of a leaching and the technique to be used will very frequently depend upon any prior
treatment which may be given the solid. In some instances, small particles of the soluble material are
completely surrounded by a matrix of insoluble matter. The solvent must then diffuse into the mass,
and the resulting solution must diffuse out, before a separation can result. This is the situation with
many metallurgical materials. Crushing and grinding of such solids will greatly accelerate the
leaching action, since then the soluble portions are made more accessible to the solvent.

Crushing at Freda Rebecca Gold Mine

One of the industries that heavily apply crushing as a primary stage unit operation is the mineral
processing industry. The ore has to be crushed to the required sizes before it can be further processes.
Freda Rebecca Gold Mine is in this group of industries that have crushing as the first stage in the
processing phase.

Process description
Ore from underground is transported to the crushing plant by dump trucks. Two primary crushers are
installed at the crushing plant for size reduction. There are two primary crushers and one secondary
crusher. The two primary crushers are jaw crushers of size 50in × 60in motor rating of 250kw and
reduction ratio of 8.5 and 30in × 42in a motor rating of 132kw and reduction ratio of 8.2. The
secondary crusher is a 4.25ft cone crusher. The rock boulders from the underground have a size of up
to 300mm.

Figure 1: Jaw Crusher

One of the two primary crushers the 50in × 60in jaw crusher is used for primary crushing of material
in size of up to 300mm.The material of the crusher liners is manganese steel because it work-hardens
by impact therefore resulting in greater hardness. The set point crusher gap of the 50in × 60in is
150mm and is regularly checked every shift. Material from the crusher is transported by a conveyor
belt system. The crushed product from the 50in × 60in crusher is moved on a CV00 conveyer belt. It
is passes to a CV3A belt and then to a CV3B belt. CV3B belt moves the ore to a double deck screen
for product screening. The double deck screen has an aperture size of 40mm at the bottom deck, the
top deck is no-longer there. The oversize and the undersize of the screen (105mm and +31.5mm ) is
moved to the CV06 belt which moves the material to the stock pile at the main plant then to the live
stockpile for The Main Plant. The material in between the decks ( -105mm and +31.5mm) is moved to
the CV04 belt which moves the material to the cone crusher for secondary crushing. From the
secondary crusher the product moves to CV05 belt which moves them to the CV06 belt.

The other primary crusher the 30in × 42in jaw crusher is smaller than the 50in × 60in crusher.
Therefore, the throughput and the product size differ substantially for this crusher. The crusher gap set
point is 130mm. Material from the crusher is transported by a conveyor belt system as well. The
product material from this crusher goes to both plants i.e., the CIL1 and CIL2 plant. The ore from the
crusher moved to the CV01 belt after crushing. The material the goes to the CIL 2 is moved by a
series of belts CV07, CV08, CV09, CV10 belt to stockpile at the CIL2 plant. Crusher product from
the 30in × 42in jaw crusher to the CIL1 plant moves to CV02 belt from the CV01. The CV02 belt
moves the material to the double deck screen. This double deck screen is the same as that for the 50in
× 60in crusher. The same process occurs as that with the product from the 50in × 60in crusher up until
the material is moved to the CIL1 plant stock pile.

The Secondary Crusher

Figure 2: Cone Crusher

Secondary crushing is done for the material in the middle of the double deck (105mm and +31.5mm
material). The material moves from the double screen to the cone-crusher with a capacity of 1100t/hr
via the CV04 belt. Secondary crushing on this material is necessary in order the middling material.
These are the material which is not able to be crushed in the semi-autogenous mills and will be
disposed as scats from the mill. This will directly affect the throughput of the milling section. The gap
set point of the cone-crusher is 20-25mm. The crusher is at this level because very fine material will
lower the quality of the grind. The product goes to CV05 then CV06 belt which move them to the
main plant stockpile.

Parameters of the Crushing Section

Crushers at FRGM have the set parameters to be followed in the operation of the processes in
order to achieve the production goals. One of the key issues in crushing is the product size.
The product will be further size reduced in the mills at both plants. As explained earlier on
the energy involved in size reduction, the key factors are initial and final size of the product
and the bond work index. Since the mills operate at a set power around 1950Mw to 2050mW,
it is essential to specify the initial size before milling. This is why crusher gaps are essential.
Table 1 below shows the set crusher gaps for the crushers.

Table 1: Set crusher gaps

Crusher Set Crusher Gap/mm
50in × 60in 150
30in × 42in 130
Cone crusher 25

Crusher gaps are measured every shift. The primary crusher gaps are measured using a tape measure
or a millimeter rule. When measuring the crusher gaps, the gap is measured on the points on the
crusher and the results are averaged to give the give crusher gap. For the secondary cone crusher, the
crusher gap is measured using a lead button. The lead button (about 45 mm diameter) is inserted into
the crusher and is squashed to some degree. The diameter of the squashed lead button is measured
using a Vernier Calipers and gives the crusher gap of the cone crusher. If the crusher gap is found to
be not in the desired size, it has to be immediately adjusted by the technicians.

Shortcomings and Recommendations

The crushing section at FRGM as key as it is in the production output, it is subject to a lot of
shortcomings in sectors of engineering, health and environment. Table 2 below states the noted
shortcomings and the suggested mitigation measures than might need to be looked at.
Table 2: Shortcoming and recommendations on crushing
Shortcoming Suggested Technical Counter Measure
There is a lot of dust in the crushing circuit on the Introduction of a dampening system like
crushers and the conveyor belts. This dust is very injection of some water to lower the dust levels
hazardous to health and can lead to diseases like
pneumoconiosis
The use of a lead button to measure the crusher Replacing lead with another material for the
gaps of the hydrocone. Lead is very hazardous button. Another material that could be used is
both to humans and environment and its use is copper, aluminium etc.
very discouraged. Another solution is to install a more advanced
measuring system (like ultrasonic and other
electronic systems) to give a more improved
measurement.
The continual and uncontrollable extension or Designing and instalment of a control
shrinking of crusher gaps from the set value mechanism to control the crusher gap at the set
which will bring inconsistencies in production. point.
This can also involve the inserting of an alarm to
quickly notify the operators of the crusher gap
shifts

Elements of Health and Safety

Freda Rebecca Gold Mine subscribes to ISO 14001:2015 in managing its environmental
issues and to ISO 18001:2018 as an occupational health and safety guiding document. The
organization has zero tolerance for harmful incidences in all its operation units. The mine
seeks to achieve optimum sustainability in all processes from mining the ore to processing.
The crushing section is prone to many hazards mainly due to the nature of the environment
and the equipment used. Therefore, it is mandatory to take note of all the hazards and control
them before uninvited fatalities occur. Table 3 below shows some of these hazards and the
corresponding control measures.

Table 3: Elements of Safety and Health on Crushing

Hazard Consequence Control Measure

Covid-19 Death Follow WHO guidelines
Electricity Electrocution Treat all cables as live
High noise levels Ear damage Wear ear plugs.
Dust Pneumoconiosis Wear dust respirators.
Conveyor Belts Injury Make sure it is off before
operating and notify the
operators.
Practice caution.
Crusher Injury Make sure it is off before
operating and notify the
operators.
Practice caution.
Lead Button Poisonous to the body Avoid skin contact, where gloves
when handling
Milling

A mill is a device that breaks solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting.
Such comminution is an important unit operation in many processes. The grinding of solid materials
occurs through mechanical forces that break up the structure by overcoming the interior bonding
forces. After the grinding the state of the solid is changed as well as the grain size, the grain size
disposition and the grain shape. Milling also refers to the process of breaking down, separating,
sizing, or classifying aggregate material.

Factors Influencing the Size of the Product in a Mill

 The rate of feed – High feed rate results to size reduction since the material is in the mill for a
shorter time.

 Weight of balls – Large steel of balls gives fine mill product. The weight of the charge can be
increased, either by increasing the number of balls, or by using a material of higher density.
Since optimum grinding conditions are usually obtained when the bulk volume of the balls is
equal to 50 per cent of the volume of the mill, variation of the weight of balls is normally
affected by the use of materials of different densities.

 The diameter of the balls – Steel balls with small diameter result in the production of fine
material. The limiting size reduction obtained with a given size of balls is known as the free
grinding limit. For most economical operation, the smallest possible balls should be used.

 The slope of the mill - An increase in the slope of the mill increases the capacity of the plant
because the retention time is reduced, although this produces coarser product.

 The properties of the feed material - The larger the feed size the larger is the product under
given operating conditions. A smaller size reduction is obtained with a hard material.

 The speed of rotation of the mill - At low speeds milling of the feed is less since steel balls
will be simply rolling gently without any action of grinding the feed. At slightly higher
speeds, the balls are projected short distances across the mill, and at still higher speeds they
are thrown greater distances and considerable wear of the lining of the mill takes
place. At very high speeds, the balls are carried right round in contact with the sides
of the mill and little relative movement or grinding takes place again. The minimum
speed at which the balls are carried round in this manner is called the critical speed of
the mill and, under these conditions, there will be no resultant force acting on the ball
 when it is situated in contact with the lining of the mill in the uppermost position, that
is the centrifugal force will be exactly equal to the weight of the ball. If the mill is
rotating at the critical angular velocity ωc, then:

2
rω c =g

This gives ωc=

√ g
r
(1)

The corresponding critical rotational speed, Nc in revolutions per unit time, is given by:

N c=
ωc
=
2π 2π
1
√ g
r
(2)

In this equation, r is the radius of the mill.

 The level of material in the mill - Power consumption is reduced by maintaining a low
level of material in the mill, and this can be controlled most satisfactorily by sting a
suitable discharge opening for the product. If the level of material is raised, the
cushioning action is increased and power is wasted by the production of an excessive
quantity of undersize material.

Milling at FRGM
From the spout materials moves into the SAG mill for Main Plant or ball mills for CIL 2 plant and the
feed water helps for the grind and steel balls are for crushing. The milling section has 2, 16 x 24ft
SAG mills of power rating: 2150kW load: 55It has a target feed rate of about 83.14tonnes per hour
per mill (tph). It works on the principle of impact and attrition. Size reduction is done by impact as the
steel balls (76mm diameter for CIL 2 Plant and 125mm diameter for the Main plant) drop from near
the top of the shell. A ball mill consists of a hollow cylindrical shell rotating about its axis at 90
percent of its critical speed so the mill speed is 19,16rpm. The ball mill is divided into four zones that
is Cataracting zone, cascading zone, the grinding zone and the fracture zone. The grinding medium is
lifted along the rising side of the mill until a position of dynamic equilibrium is reached, when the
bodies cascade and cataract down the free surface of the other bodies, about a dead zone where little
movement occurs, down to the toe of the mill charge. The speed at which a mill is run is important,
since it governs the nature of the product and the amount of wear on the shell liners. The driving force
of the mill is transmitted via the liner to the charge. At relatively low speeds, or with smooth liners,
the medium tends to roll down to the toe of the mill and essentially abrasive combination occurs. This
cascading leads to finer grinding, with increases slime production liner wear. Cataracting leads to
comminution by impact and a coarser end product with reduced liner wear. At the critical speed of the
mill the theoretical trajectory of the medium is such that it would fall outside the shell. In practice,
centrifuging occurs and the medium is carried around in an essentially fixed position against the shell .
Budgeted power draw is 20kW/t/mill with a total energy of 96320KWhr for both mills. On the
discharge end of each mill there is grate, aperture size 16mm and trommel screen aperture size is
12mm which prevent grate oversize from leaving the mill un-milled and un-milled particles (scats)
from reporting to the mill discharge sump.

Figure 3: Cataracting Zone

 Figure 4: Sag Mill
From the mill, the mill discharge which is the slurry having 70 – 72% solids move to the sump where
water is added to control pulp density and grind. From the discharge sump the slurry is then pumped
via 4 x 10/8 pumps (power rating: 160kW and 200kW) to Primary classification hydro-cyclones. For
the pulp that goes to the overflow density must be 18-22 for the one which goes to the underflow it
should be 72-75%. Discharge pump runs the pulp which should have a density between 45-55%
solids.
Classification

Freda Rebecca Main plant has four classification hydro-cyclones, 2 for each mill on the east and west.
Primary cyclone and De-watering cyclone components include spigots of size 90mm and 28mm
respectively, vortex finders and cyclone cones. They run at pressure of about 40 - 60kpa.
The hydro cyclone separates the underflow from the overflow. It’s a piece of equipment that uses
fluid pressure to generate centrifugal force and a flow pattern which can separate particles or droplets
from a liquid medium. These particles or droplets must have a sufficiently different density relative to
the medium in order to achieve separation.
The flow pattern in a hydro cyclone is cyclonic; this is induced by tangential injection of the liquid
into a cylindrical chamber, which causes the development of a vortex. The chamber has a restricted
axial bottom outlet such that all of the liquid in the vortex cannot escape via this outlet. Some of the
liquid has to reverse its path and flow counter currently to an axial top outlet. This reverse flow
continues to rotate and an air core develops due to lower pressure at the axis of rotation. The coarser
particles are then discharged through the spigot or apex as the underflow material, with small amounts
of water (density approximately 75% solids). The underflow splits into two one goes to the 3 mill and
the other goes through a 4mm vibro-screen power rating of 0.75kW, oversize reports back to the mills
for re-milling. The vibro-screen undersize reports to the knelson concentrators for gravity
concentration.

Gravity concentration

Gravity recoverable gold is collected by the use of knelson concentrators. These consist of a conical
inner shell, with a series of parallel “vee” shaped riffles connected to a rotating outer shell. Feed is
introduced in the form of slurry at the top. A theoretical centrifugal force causes the feed solids to fill
the inter-riffle spaces from top to bottom. Once these spaces are full of solids the introduction of
further feed starts the sorting stages where heavy minerals displace the lighter minerals and as a result
the heavy minerals are trapped in the inter-riffle spaces while the lighter minerals are carried by water
to the bottom of the unit, hence a separation occurs. To keep the bed of heavy minerals thus formed
fluidised. Water is introduced through the multiple fluidisation holes in the inner shell. This
fluidisation water force is expected to be strong enough to inhibit severe compaction of the heavy
mineral bed due to the strong centrifugal force. The finer particles are not subject to high centrifugal
forces as a result they are carried out easily by drag force. The overflow densities range from between
18 – 22% solids with 80% passing 75µm being the target.
Delkor screen

The delkor screen is used for the effective removal of thrash material from slurries. The unit has an
aperture size of 600µm. These screens efficiently separate a relatively small amount of a well-defined
size fraction from slurries that is coarser than the particles required for processing .The primary
cyclone overflow reports to the 550µm Delkor linear screen (size: 3.5 x 13.0m) motor power of 4KW.
Here, the slurry is screened for unwanted objects which might have accumulated in the circuit. Delkor
oversize particles and the unwanted objects are sprayed and they into the mills for re-milling.

Dewatering cyclone

De-watering tank feed is used to optimize sump levels as a result it directly affects sump
slurry densities. In the event of overflow, a spillage pump (power rating of 22kW) is
available to pump the overflow back into the system by pumping it to the spillage pump,
which then pumps the slurry into the sumps. From the de-watering tank slurry is pumped up
into the Cluster cyclones. The Cluster cyclones comprise of 2 clusters on east and west. The
overflow from the cyclones, having a density of about 4-15% solids form the process water
and is also used to dilute the mill discharge in the discharge sump. At FRGM the main
interest is in the cluster cyclone underflow which has a density 52% solids and grind of 75µm
is piped into the CIL feed tank where it is mixed with lime and then pumped into CIL tanks
by a feed pump for leaching.
Table 4: Risk assessment

HAZARD CONSEQUENCE CONTROL MEASURE

Noise Induced hearing loss Wear ear plugs

Rotating equipment Injury Practise caution

Men Bad communication Practice two way

communication

Dust Pneumoconiosis Wear dust respirator

Leaching

Leaching is concerned with the extraction of a soluble constituent from a solid by means of a solvent.
The process may be used either for the production of a concentrated solution of a valuable solid
material, or in order to remove an insoluble solid, such as a pigment, from a soluble material with
which it is contaminated. The method used for the extraction is determined by the proportion of
soluble constituent present, its distribution throughout the solid and the nature of the solid and the
particle size. In leaching if the unwanted substance is being removed the process is called washing.

Large uses of leaching processes occur in the metals processing industries. The useful metals usually
occur in mixtures with very large amounts of undesirable constituents, and leaching is used to remove
the metals as soluble salts. Copper salts are dissolved or leached from ground ores containing other
minerals by sulphuric acid or ammonium solutions. Cobalt and nickel salts are leached from their ores
by sulphuric acid-ammonia-oxygen mixtures. Gold is leached from its ore using an aqueous sodium
cyanide solution. Sodium hydroxide is leached from a slurry of calcium carbonate and sodium
hydroxide prepared by reacting Na2CO3 with Ca(OH)2. There many other different lixiviants for
extraction of these metals.

In some cases, the soluble material is distributed in small isolated pockets in a material which is
impermeable to the solvent for example gold dispersed in rock. In such cases the material is crushed
so that all the soluble material is exposed to the solvent. This occurs in many hydrometallurgical
processes where metal salts are leached from mineral ores. In these cases, crushing and grinding of
the ores is used to increase the rate of leaching since the soluble portions are made more accessible to
the solvent.

Factors Influencing the rate of leaching extraction

There are many important factors to be considered when carrying out or designing a unit operation of
leaching. The following are four of the major ones.
Particle Size

Particle size affects the extraction rate in a number of ways. The smaller the size, the greater is the
interfacial area between the solid and liquid, and therefore the higher is the rate of transfer of material
and the smaller is the distance the solute must diffuse within the solid.

Solvent

The liquid chosen should be a good selective solvent and its viscosity should be sufficiently low for it
to circulate freely. Generally, a relatively pure solvent will be used initially, although as the extraction
proceeds the concentration of solute will increase and the rate of extraction will progressively
decrease because the concentration gradient will be reduced, and secondly because the solution will
generally become more viscous.

Temperature

In most cases, the solubility of the material which is being extracted will increase with temperature to
give a higher rate of extraction. Further, the diffusion coefficient will be expected to increase with rise
in temperature and this will also improve the rate of extraction.

Agitation of the Fluid

Agitation of the solvent is important because this increases the eddy diffusion and therefore the
transfer of material from the surface of the particles to the bulk of the solution. Further, agitation of
suspensions of fine particles prevents sedimentation and more effective use is made of the interfacial
surface.

There also many more factors like the chemical and physical behaviour of the solute, the engineering
designs etc.

The process of Leaching

In the leaching of soluble materials from inside a particle by a solvent, the following is the general
description of what can occur in the overall process.

The solvent must be transferred from the bulk solvent solution to the surface of the solid. Next, the
solvent must penetrate or diffuse into the solid. The solute dissolves into the solvent. The solute then
diffuses through the solid solvent mixture to the surface of the particle. Finally, the solute is
transferred to the bulk solution. In general, the rate of transfer of the solvent from the bulk solution to
the solid surface is quite rapid, and the rate of transfer of the solvent into the solid can be rapid or
slow. This solvent transfer usually occurs initially when the particles are first contacted with the
solvent. The dissolving of the solute into the solvent inside the solid may be simply a physical
dissolution process or an actual chemical reaction that frees the solute for dissolution.

Gold leaching process

Gold is leached by aqueous solutions, and the two most common processes are cyanide leaching
process which is the industry standard and thiosulfate leaching which has been proven to be effective
on ores with high soluble copper values or ores. The adsorption by carbonaceous components (usually
activated carbon) then follows which preferentially absorbs gold and gold-cyanide complexes.

Cyanide leaching of gold

Gold cyanidation which is also called the cyanide process or the MacArthur-Forrest process is a
hydrometallurgical technique for extracting gold from low-grade ore by converting the gold to a
water-soluble coordination complex. It is the most commonly used leaching process for gold
extraction.

The chemical reaction for the dissolution of gold, the Elsner Equation, is as follows:

4(Au) (s) + 8 NaCN(aq) + O2(g) + 2 H20(l) → 4 Na(Au(CN) 2)(aq) + 4 NaOH(aq)

Oxygen is one of the reagents consumed during cyanidation, and a deficiency in dissolved oxygen
slows leaching rate. Air or pure oxygen gas can be purged through the pulp to maximize the dissolved
oxygen concentration. Oxygen can also be added by dosing the pulp with hydrogen peroxide solution.

In order to successfully dissolve gold, there is need of two components: a complexing agent and an
oxidizing agent. In the case of the Elsner’s sodium cyanide is the complexing and oxygen is the
oxidizing agent. Other oxidizing agents like potassium permanganate, potassium ferricyanide, sodium
peroxide etc. are not used because of their high cost. They also have the tendency to oxidize the
cyanide to cyanate which will hinder the leaching process. Water is useful to dissolve the cyanide
hence bring forth the cyanide ions for complex formation with gold.

In some ores, particularly those that are partially sulfurized, aeration (prior to the introduction of
cyanide) of the ore in water at high pH can render elements such as iron and sulfur less reactive to
cyanide, therefore making the gold cyanidation process more efficient. Lime is added to maintain a
high pH level in leaching and prevent the formation of the poisonous hydrogen cyanide.
Leaching at Freda Rebecca Gold Mine (FRGM)

Pulp from the C.I.L tank is pumped to Tank Zero at the leaching section. Leaching at FRGM
happens in tanks 0-6 and adsorption happens from tanks 7 to 13. The most intensive leaching
happens at the first two tanks that is tank 0 and 1. Figure 1 below shows the flow of pulp in
the tanks.

Figure 5: Leaching Cycle

Pure oxygen is added into the first two tanks. Oxygen used at FRGM is supplied by the oxygen plant
on site. The purity of oxygen must be above 90%. Supplementary liquid oxygen is also available.

Cyanide is added to tank 0 using a pipe; the concentration of cyanide is controlled by controlling its
flow rate in the pipe using valve. The required concentration of cyanide varies based on the
characteristics of the ore but usually it must be 300-350 ppm in tank 0. The cyanide and lime
consumption per tonne is 0.5Kg/t and 0.25Kg/t. Cyanide is prepared at the cyanide preparation unit in
the plant and is transported in a pipe. 90ppm cyanide concentration for the tail is targeted.

Cyanide mixing
Cyanide, caustic and water are mixed in a cyanide mixed tank so that they may be added to the
leaching tanks according to the ratio:

4 bags Cyanide: 4 bags caustic soda : process water to fill up to 2m of the mixing tank

Each bag of cyanide weighs 1tonne and for the whole shift 8tonnes are used.

Cyanide is a very toxic chemical hence there is need to wear a full-face mask or 3M mask with
goggles, sinking suit, long PVC gloves, leather boots or gumboots. There is also need of a spotter
during mixing because in case of an accident he or she should be the first helper. Cyanide is kept in a
cyanide shade to avoid mixing with water or other reagents and caustic soda is kept at the stores
department.

The cyanide concentration is controlled manually. Cyanide concentration is tested by titration with
silver nitrate in the control room. The major disadvantage of this process is that it is manual and
relatively long and by the time the cyanide concentration is determined, the concentration in the leach
tanks could have already changed.

Lime is added to tank 0 mainly to maintain the pH which must be kept between 10.5 and 11.5 in that
range. Lime is needed to suppress the formation of hydrogen cyanide (which is very poisonous) from
the leaching process in the tanks. Lime is added occasionally using the lime injection pipes. The
reason why lime is not added continually is that there would be frequent chocking of the lime since it
is mainly solid because it is sparingly soluble in water. The pH of the tanks is determined using
calibrated pH meters in the met lab.

The pulp density of the CIL feed and Tank 0 must be 48-52% solids. The reason for the value pulp
density is that if it too high it would be difficult to pump or agitate and consume much power. Also, if
the pulp density is too high the solids would settle in the tanks causing the sanding of tanks. The
specific gravity (sg) of the pulp must be at 2.8 for the same reasons. The density of the pulp and the sg
are regularly checked and are measured using the calibrated scale in the plant. The pulp is drawn from
the tanks using a sample collector.

The grind of the CIL feed in tank 0 should be 80% or more. This means that 80% of the pulp particles
should pass through a 75 microns sieve (i.e. 80% of the pulp has a particle size less than or equal to
75µm). Grind is essential because the effectiveness of leaching process is heavily reliant on particles
size as explained earlier (smaller particle size more preferred). The smaller the particle size, the larger
the surface area of the particles and as a result the contact between the particles and reagents is
improved. The grind is also checked using the 75 microns sieve and a calibrated scale. The grind is
also critical to note in order to prevent the sanding of the tanks.

Oxygen concentration is highest in the first two tanks. Generally, the oxygen concentration must be
15ppm for the leaching tanks and 10 ppm for adsorption tanks. Pure oxygen is only charged in tank 0
and tank 1 and the rest of the tanks compressed air is added instead. Compressed is also used to aid
the agitation of the pulp. In adsorption tanks compressed air helps to suspend the carbon. Oxygen
concentration is regularly checked using a dissolved oxygen (DO) meter. Oxygen concentration also
helps operators to see the extent of the reaction in the leaching tanks. The oxygen concentration helps
to see if the impurities in the ore are reacted and if not, it helps to see where they are highly
concentrated. For example, if tank 0 has DO reading of 9 (9mgL) and tank 1 has a DO reading of 14
(14 mg/L) it shows there is higher concentration of impurities consuming oxygen in tank 0. These
impurities can be metals (iron, zinc, copper etc) or sulphides like zinc sulphide.

In the leaching tanks the transfer of pulp is upcoming system to ensure perfect mixing of the pulp and
the reagents before it leaves the tank. The agitator in the leaching tanks has a double impeller system.
It has three blades and three plates at the bottom to ensure higher transfer of power and make the
agitation more effective. The tanks have baffle plates inserted on them to make the agitation more
effective and also to support the tanks. Air spurges are inserted to help provide a buoyance for the
pulp when leaving from one tank to the next through the upcoming mechanism.

The tanks 0, 1, 2 and 3(offline) have a capacity of 2000m 3 and the remaining tanks from 5 to 13 have
a capacity of 600m3. The tanks operate at about 90% of their total capacity. The first have a higher
capacity to help increase the residence time in the leaching process, because leaching is a slow
process. The depth of the tanks 0 to 3 is 14m and of tanks 5 to 13 is 10m. The depth of the tanks is
regularly measured to check if the tanks are sanding. If the depth of the tank is found to be lower than
its actual value it means that the pulp has settled in the tank or sanding of the tank has occurred. The
sanding is usually caused by poor grinds or a very high pulp density. The depth of the tank is
measured using a rope tied with steel balls and a tape measure.

Table 5: Leaching Parameters and Operating values

Section Parameter Operating value

CIL Feed Density 48-52%

 Grind 80% passing 75 microns

Specific gravity 2.8

Tank 0-2 Cyanide concentration 300-350ppm

Oxygen concentration 15ppm

Depth 14m

Capacity 2000m3

Tank 5&6 Cyanide concentration 300ppm

Oxygen concentration 15ppm

Depth 10m

Capacity 600m3

All leaching Pulp density 50-52%

section
pH 10.5-11.5

Lime concentration 0.3gt-1

Agitator speed 1 460rpm

Determination of Leaching Parameters at FRGM

The leaching parameters are very essential in the leaching of gold. They are the ones which give an
optimum, cost effective and a safe process. The consumption of lime is generally 0.25kg per tonne of
ore. Leaching continues up to tank 13 along with adsorption (CIL process). Table 2 below shows the
leaching parameters and how they are measured at FRGM.

Table 6: Determination of Leaching Parameters at FRGM

Parameter How it is Determined

Oxygen concentration Using a DO metre.

The probe of a DO metre is dipped into a tank the value which appears on the DO
meter screen is the concentration of oxygen in that particular tank in mg/L

Cyanide concentration By titration with silver nitrate. Exactly 25ml of sample is put in a beaker and 3
drops of indicator are added. The solution is run with silver nitrate in a burrete
until a colour change from colourless to pale yellow is observed. The volume of
the silver nitrate used multiplied by 100 gives the cyanide concentration.

Tank depth Using a rope tied to steel balls at the end. The robe is inserted into the tank until it
reaches the surface that is when it is no longer moving down the tank. The length
of the robe which was immersed in the pulp is measured using the tape measure
and the value is the depth of that tank.

Pulp density The pulp is collected from the tank using a sample collector. It is then poured into
a cup of the calibrated scale. The value of the pulp density is read at the line of
readings which correspond to the 2.8 reading on that scale.

Grind It is measured using the same scale as of pulp density. The density and sg of the
pulp is first measured and recorded. The pulp is thoroughly washed on a 75-micron
screen until clear, the density and sg of the retained particles is then measured and
recorded. Grind is then calculated

pH It determined using a pH metre. The pH metre is first calibrated. A sample from

the tank is collected. The probe of the pH metre is inserted into the sample. The
reading on the pH metre gives the pH of the contents of that particular tank.
 Shortcomings and Recommendations

Leaching processes at Freda Rebecca Gold Mine are similar to the conventional and most common
leaching processes in most gold processing industries. However, these processes need constant
upgrading in order to optimize the production output. The following are the proposed shortcomings
and recommendations.

Table 7: Shortcomings and Recommendations

Shortcoming Recommendations

The elevated concentrations of copper and other metals This problem can be counteracted by designing of a
increase the consumption of cyanide per tonne of ore. pre-treatment system to remove those reagent
consuming impurities in the ore.

The manual measurement and control of cyanide and Installation of an automated feedback control system to
other reagents is not sustainable and effective. control the concentration of reagents in leaching.

Although cyanide is the most common leaching solvent Replacing cyanide with other reagents like thiosulphate.
in gold processing, it is not environmentally friendly
and its use is becoming increasingly discouraged in
other places.

Elements of safety health and environment

Freda Rebecca Gold Mine subscribes to ISO 14001:2018 in managing its environmental issues and to
ISO 18001:2018 as an occupational health and safety guiding document. The organisation has no
tolerance for accidents in all its operation units. All unit operations at FRGM should be done at
maximum safety and minimum risk. The process of leaching at FRGM clearly has some hazards both
to the personnel and environment. The following are the possible hazards associated with the leaching
operation at FRGM.

Cyanide which is a major reagent in the leaching process is a very poisonous substance. Absorption of
cyanide by the operator can cause death. Caution must be practiced when measuring the pulp density
of tank 0 because there is very high concentration of cyanide. Also, in the cyanide solution
preparation section there should be maximum caution as well as in testing for cyanide concentration
in the tanks.

Stock pile dust is a serious problem because dust consumption can cause pneumoconiosis. The
leaching tanks are situated side by side with the stock pile, when the wind direction changes and
moves towards the tanks, the dust will affect the workforce

Stripping or Elution

As mention before, this process is just the exact opposite or reverse of adsorption or absorption.
Although the process is generally common in fluids (liquids and gases), it is also applied in some
solid processing operations like in gold processing. In stripping (desorption), a liquid mixture is
contacted with a gas to selectively remove components by mass transfer from the liquid to the gas
phase. Strippers are frequently coupled with absorbers to permit regeneration and recycle of the
absorbent. Because stripping is not perfect, absorbent recycled to the absorber contains species
present in the vapour entering the absorber. When water is used as the absorbent, it is common to
separate the absorbent from the solute by distillation rather than by stripping. For stripping, design
procedures are well developed and commercial processes are common and quite similar. Plate towers
can be designed by following an adaptation of the McCabe-Thiele method.

Factors that Affect Elution

Stripping/Elution can be a physical or chemical process. It is key in many industrial unit operations.
Therefore, for that reason process engineers should take into account of all the parameters that affect
stripping in order to manipulate them to give the optimum results in industrial operations. The
following are some of the factors that affect Elution.

 Temperature: Since the kinetics and the thermodynamics of elution improve with increasing
temperature. Elution is an endothermic process therefore it will improve with increase in
 temperature. All elution plants operate at elevated temperatures, the modern trend is towards
eluting at temperatures in excess of 100 °C, with the use of pressurized equipment.
 Flow rate: The other important factor is flow rate of the components. High flow rates in the in
the elution cycle are important in order to mobilize or draw out the gold cyanide from within
the carbon granules. It is also important to note that elution conditions are conducive for scale
formation. Scale forms in areas of greatest seeding, such as heat source (heat exchange),
nozzles in pipes etc. Scale formation will interrupt flow rate and reduce heat transfer (by
providing insulation and increasing the heat transfer area). This has a negative impact on the
elution processes. Therefore, it is recommended to use pure solvents and reagents. It is also
mandatory to constantly clean the flow pipes with solvents like acids.
 Ionic strength: This is another factor that influences elution/stripping. Elution increases with
increase in anion concentrations and decreases with increase in cation concentrations. This
means that the rate of elution passes reaches a maximum as the concentration of the eluting
solvent is increased. The presence of cations that form strong ion pairs with gold cyanide,
such as calcium can have a negative impact on the elution of gold if present in excess.

Elution of Gold

Elution of gold is one of the key unit operations in gold processing. Due to its large surface area and
active pores, activated carbon is a very good adsorbent and it is the first choice in gold adsorption, but
it is not easy to remove the adsorbed gold from activated carbon. That is why there is need for
sophisticated elution processes in gold extraction. Since the adsorption of gold by activated carbon is
controlled by a chemical phenomenon, driven by a series of factors, changing key factors that favour
adsorption inversely will reverse the adsorption mechanism.

There two main steps involved in the elution of gold. Firstly, ion exchange occurs as the Na + ions
(from NaOH) displace the Ca2+ ions on the gold cyanide complex. This will result in the forming of a
less stable Na[Au (CN)2] ion pair. In the second stage, the less stable Na[Au (CN) 2] which is not
stable at elevated temperatures breaks down into its composite ions Na + and Au(CN)2-. The
dissociation of these ions will result in their separation from the carbon into the solution. This is the
reason that heat is required during elution, the higher the temperature, the more effective the reaction.

Hot acid washing can be applied since it breaks down the calcium gold cyanide into polymeric AuCN
or Au metal.
Elution at Freda Rebecca Gold Mine

Freda Rebecca Gold Mine is one of the many industries that utilise elution/stripping as one of their
key unit operations. Activated carbon that is rich with gold from the adsorption process must be
treated by an elution step to strip the metal from the carbon. This will result in a more concentrated
gold solution. This will be electroplated more efficiently, and allows the carbon to be recycled to the
adsorption circuit. The type of activated carbon used is Donau Carbon.

Description of the Stages

Carbon is moved from the header tank to the holding vessel, it first passes through the carbon loaded
screen. The screen separates the carbon from the pulp. The pulp returns back to the header tank. The
holding vessel has a capacity of 6 tonnes of carbon. From the holding vessel the carbon is pumped to
the elution column. In the elution column it encounters sodium hydroxide.

Sodium hydroxide is added at 450 to 500kg prepared in the mixing tank. The TK 11 tank has to be at
45% to Auto Start the elution. If the TK 11 tank is below 45% elution does not commence. Water is
for the heating stage from 25oC to 75oC. At 127oC the heating stage changes to the transferring stage.
The reagents are added to the elution and the process takes 20 to 30 minutes. The TK 11 tank level
then changes from 75% to 5% and this means there will be no more reagents in the tank.

Caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) is the elution solvent. The pre-soak stage takes 60min. temperature
will be at 127oC and pressure at 300kPa. Then carbon mixing is done. After 1 hour the elution stage
follows. Cool water from the TK11 moves to the elution column. The solution then moves to the
electrowinning tanks.

There are 2 electrowinning tanks, the old tank and the new tank. The factor of the new tank is 1.2847
and that of the old tank is 1.5196. The tank level is recorded. The difference between the current level
and the previous tank level is calculated. The samples are collected and submitted to the assay lab for
analysis. All samples are combined in the assay lab to form a composite solution. The sampling is
done every 15 minutes. The eluted gold is the calculated

eluted gold=average composite Au× tank difference × tank factor

The solution is moved to the electrowinning cells in the gold room.

The final stage is the heat transfer stage. At the heating stage, the burner is turned on which uses
diesel, 1000l and more. The water for heating moves to the secondary heat exchanger, the heated
water goes to a primary heat exchanger which is further heated by oil. During the cooling stage the
elution column is cooled from 127oC to 85oC.

From elution the column, the carbon is divided into two batches 3 tonnes each. The first batch goes to
the regeneration kiln and the other batch goes to Tank 13. The batch in the regeneration kiln first goes
to a hopper and then into the kiln for reactivation. The reactivated occurs at temperatures of 700 oC or
above. The time taken for regeneration depends on the feed rate of the hopper. At FRGM a gas-fired
regeneration kiln is used. The regenerated carbon then goes to a quench tank for quenching.

Table 8: Operating conditions of The Elution Process

Stage Parameter Operating Value

Reagent Preparation Sodium hydroxide 450-500kg

Temperature 127oC

Pre-soak time 60 minutes

Pressure 300kPa

Elution Solution flow rate

pH

TK11 level

Heat Transfer Cooling temperature change

Diesel level

The Mechanical Set-up of the Elution Section at FRGM.

There are strainers at the bottom of the elution column that hold the carbon and allow only water to
pass. When the carbon moves from the holding vessel all the valves are closed at the top of the vessel
and the one at the bottom is opened. Water pressures the vessel. This pressure thrusts the carbon to the
elution column.
The 6-inch ball valve at the top of the elution column is opened to allow the carbon to enter the
column at the valve at the bottom of the column is closed. The carbon moves in the pressurized water.
The drain valves drain the water in the elution column leaving only the carbon behind, the other 3-
inch valve is closed. The 3in valve is for the circulation of water.

When the elution column is cooled at 85 oC, the eluted is moved from the column. The water valve is
opened to pressurize the column. The 6in valve at the top is closed while the one at the bottom is
opened.

In the holding vessel the level of carbon is measured by a string, each marked level corresponds to a
tonne of carbon in the vessel. The maximum level is 6 tonnes of carbon. If the level is at lower than 6
tonnes of carbon, it results in high pressure accumulation in the vessel and the process becomes
difficult to work on.

The type of heat exchangers used are shell and tube heat exchangers. There is a diesel fired boiler
attached at the primary heat exchanger. The level of the diesel tank is regularly checked on the level at
the diesel tank. The control of all the elution operations is done at the Elution Panel.

Short-comings and Recommendations

The elution process at FRGM has produced some good results over time and is consistent.
Nevertheless, every engineering process is subject to shortcomings and improvements. The following
are the suggestions that may need to be tested and applied and could help improve the elution process.

 Replacing sodium hydroxide with potassium hydroxide as the stripping solvent. The KOH
could improve rate of the extraction since potassium has greater displacing power that sodium
due to its chemical properties
Introducing a specialty designed desorption column to elute the fine carbon. This will also involve the
proper design of a transport and separation system for the fine carbon. This will help recover gold that
is left unextracted on the fine car

Smelting
Smelting is a process of obtaining a metal of economic value either as an element or simple
compound through various stages that includes heating beyond its melting point in the presence of
oxidising agents like air or reducing agents like coke. The smelting process melts the ore, usually for a
chemical reduction of the metal from its ore by a process usually involving fusion. This process is
carried out to remove base metals and other impurities from high-grade concentrates to produce gold
bullion. Some chemicals found in the gold ore can be dangerous to the workforce as well as the
equipment. Therefore, it is important that those materials are removed before the smelting takes place.
Once the gold is purified it is put into the furnace so it can be molten. The gold is put into different
shapes and bars, these are known as ingots.

Smelting is the final unit operation in the processing of gold from the ore. When the mineral ore is
mined, it undergoes size reduction (crushing and milling) and through various physical processes it is
merged into a pulp. The pulp then goes through leaching by sodium cyanide and oxygen. After the
leaching process adsorption by activated carbon then follows. The adsorbed gold then undergoes
stripping (elution) by sodium hydroxide forming a solution. This solution becomes the electrolyte in
the process that follows which is called electrowinning. The operations which follow after this are
done in the gold room and are fully described in this report. At Freda Rebecca gold mine smelting is
normally done on Mondays and Fridays.

Smelting activities as FRGM

Figure below shows a block flow diagram of all the activities carried out in the gold room for
smelting of gold.
Figure 6: Gold Room Cycle
Process description of smelting in the gold room at FRGM

Below is the description of all the activities carried out in the gold room at FRGM.

Clearing of the banks (electrowinning cells)

The first activity in the gold room is to carry out and sign the risk assessment form so that all potential
hazards can be identified and analysed carefully. All the risk mitigation measures are then put in place
and everyone acquires the need personal protective equipment for the tasks that will follow.

Head samples of the electrolyte are collected from the CIL banks namely east, west and centre. There is
seven banks in the gold room, nine from the carbon in leach processing and one from Inline leach reactor.
Each bank consists of nine anodes hence nine cathodes as well. Head samples are sent to the assay lab for
gold analysis to test the amount of dissolved gold in the electrolyte just before the smelting process for
accountability purposes. After the samples are collected, the rectifiers are switched off and the voltages
and currents noted down. The CIL banks current and voltage should be around 5V and 200A respectively.
The ILR voltage should be around 8V whilst current is about 250A. The main reasons for turning of the
rectifiers are

 to avoid electrocution on the people working on the bank s and

 to avoid wastage of electricity since no electroplating will be needed.
The cathodes are removed from the banks manually. The cathodes used can be either a wire wool or the
steel mesh cathodes. After the unpacking the banks, they are cleaned with tape or process water and are
packed with the cathodes, electrolyte is circulated, the rectifiers are switched on taking note of the current
and voltage. Solution samples (heads and tails) are taken from CIL and ILR banks then taken to the assay
lab for analysis of the plating efficiency.

Extraction of the electroplated metal from the cathodes

 The two types of cathodes (wire wool and steel mesh) undergo different process to extract the
electroplated metal on them. If it a steel mesh cathode it undergoes nitric acid dipping and then
mechanical stripping using high pressure water. If wire wool is used as the cathode, it undergoes
hydrochloric digestion.

Stripping

The first stage of this process is to dip the cathodes in nitric acid at 50%-60% strength. This is done to
dissolve the electroplated copper so that it does not compromise the purity of gold. The stainless-steel
mesh and gold do not react with nitric acid. Nitric acid also has an effect of weakening the physical bonds
between the electroplated gold and the cathodes. This makes the gold to be easily stripped by higher
pressure water. After acid dipping, the cathodes are exposed to high-pressure water whereby the gold is
mechanically removed from the cathodes. The stripped gold is collected in the containers and dried so
that it can be smelted.

Acid digestion of the wire wool

The wire wool extracted from the banks is digested with concentrated hydrochloric acid at 33% strength.
During the acid digestion the wire wool reacts with the hydrochloric acid, leaving copper and gold
suspended in the water and unreacted. For 69 electroplated cathodes, 150litres of the acid is used and the
dissolved solids are the collected and prepared in the processes that follow.

S MESH Steel Mesh WIRE WOOL

Advantages Disadvantages Advantages Disadvantages

 They can be used  They are heavy  They are light  Can only be used
for a long time  Mechanical  Acid digestion is once
 They are durable stripping is not more efficient  They can easily
 They do not have efficient  They are tear
dust  They take longer relatively faster to  The wire wool dust
 The bullion is to process process causes respiratory
purer than in  They use nitric  They use HCl  They result in less
wire wool acid which is which is less pure gold bullion
 Does not react more corrosive corrosive than  Reacts vigorously
with acid hence than HCl nitric acid with acid forming
 no films films

Table 0.9: Differences between Steel Mesh and Wire Wool

Preparation of the calcine

After extraction of the electroplated metal from the cathodes either by using wire wool or steel mesh, the
residue is collected in the vessel. A flocculent is added to make the residue settle faster. The contents are
then decanted leaving the calcine. The calcine is dried on the furnace and then its mass is measured.

Fluxes are then added to the calcine in appropriate proportions. Theses fluxes include borax, nitre
(sodium nitrate) and silica and fluorspar at 40%, 25%, 25% and 5% of the dry calcine respectively. The
purpose of borax is to reduce the melting point of the slag phases during smelting due to its low melting
temperature of 480°C. Silica is an acidic compound, which reacts with the basic compounds and metal
oxides in the ore to form slag. It also helps to prevent the silica chemically contained in the crucible from
reacting with compounds in the ore hence causing it to disintegrate. Sodium Nitrate is the oxidising agent
that aids the removal of basic compounds.

Smelting

The fluxed calcine is added to the furnace. The furnace at FRGM is powered by electricity but LP gas is
also used to aid the temperature increase. The melting point of gold is around 1064 oC but the furnace is
set at 1200oC.

After the smelting is complete (at adequate residence time), the molten sample is poured in the oiled
moulds on a ladle trolley. The moulds are oiled to prevent sticking of the valuable metal.

Figure 7: Gold Pouring

The metal is quenched using tape water, solidifies and the gold is collected. The slag is kept in the
containers and some of it is re-smelted to collect any gold left out during the first smelt. A sample of gold
5g of each bullion bar is taken to the assay lab for analyses of gold and silver. The rest of it is sent to
Fidelity printers for further processing and selling of the gold. The results that come from Fidelity Printers
should match with the ones that come from FRGM assay laboratory and the fineness should be around
700ppt.
 Figure 8: Gold Bars

Conclusion and Recommendations

Smelting at FRGM has proved to be an effective process because it has resulted in Freda Rebecca gold
mine consistently being one of the biggest gold producers in Zimbabwe. Also, the smelted gold per every
smelt usually corresponds to the theoretical expected for that particular smelt. However, just like any
other industrial process, smelting at FRGM is subject to some shortcomings and there is room for
improvement. The following are the recommendations that might help improve the process.

1. Design of a batch reactor with a chimney for acid digestion to minimize human exposure to the
films
2. Installation of an effective drainage system to minimize the accumulation of water on the gold
room surfaces
3. Inserting a more effective ventilation system to protect the workforce from the chocking films.
4. Installation of a mechanized transporting system (eg a conveyer system) to transport the cathodes
from the banks to the digestion points to minimize human risk or injury and exposure the
chemical films

Bibliography
Richardson, J. (2002). Coulson & Richardson's Chemical Engineering. Oxford: Butterworth.