Behavior of S_2O_3^(2-) and SO_3^(2-) in sulfur-bearing aqueous solution system for gold leaching

The concentrations of S2O3 2- and SO3 2- were measured in gold leaching systems,including thiosulfate system,polysulfide system and the modified lime sulfur synthetic solution(ML)system in the process of chemical reaction.The interactions among S2O3 2- ,SO3 2-and S 2-were discussed.The behavior mechanism of sulfur-bearing reagents was proposed to describe the process reactions and their Gibbs free energy.The proper quantity oxygen and SO3 2- reduce decomposition of S2O3 2-and react with sulfur derived from the decomposition of SX 2- .So,SO3 2-ions have action to stabilize sulfur-bearing system and are favorable to leach gold.

Gold-leaching performance and mechanism of sodium dicyanamide

In this work,sodium dicyanamide(SD)was used as a leaching reagent for gold recovery,and the effects of the SD dosage and solution pH on the gold-leaching performance were investigated.A gold recovery of 34.8%was obtained when SD was used as the sole leaching reagent at a dosage of 15 kg/t.In the presence of a certain amount of potassium ferrocyanide(PF)in the SD solution,the gold recovery was found to increase from 34.8%to 57.08%.Using the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation(QCM-D)technique,the leaching kinetics of SD with and without PF were studied.The QCM-D results indicate that the gold-leaching rate increased from 4.03 to 39.99 ng·cm^(–2)·min^(–1) when the SD concentration was increased from 0 to 0.17 mol/L,and increased from 39.99 to 272.62 ng·cm^(–2)·min^(–1) when 0.1 mol/L of PF was used in combination with SD.The pregnant solution in the leaching tests was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrospray mass spectrometry,which indicated that Au and(N(CN)2)–in the SD solution formed a series of metal complex ions,[AuNax(N(CN)2)x+2]–(x=1,2,3,or 4).

Biooxidation-thiosulfate leaching of refractory gold concentrate

A process of biooxidation followed by thiosulfate leaching of gold from refractory gold concentrate was investigated.Mineralogical studies on the concentrate showed that very fine gold grains(<10μm)were encapsulated in pyrite and arsenopyrite,while the proportion of monomer gold was only 21%.The gold-bearing sample was identified as a high-sulfur fine-sized wrapped-type refractory gold concentrate.The gold leaching efficiency obtained by direct cyanidation was only 59.86%.After biooxidation pretreatment,the sulfide minerals were almost completely decomposed,92 wt%of the mineral particles of the biooxidation residue were decreased to<38μm,and the proportion of monomer gold in the biooxidation residue was over 86%.Meanwhile,the gold content in the biooxidation residue was enriched to 55.60 g/t,and the S,Fe,and As contents were reduced to approximately 19.8 wt%,6.97 wt%,and 0.13 wt%,respectively.Ammoniacal thiosulfate was used for gold extraction from the biooxidation residue of the refractory gold concentrate.The results showed that the optimal reagent conditions were 0.18 M thiosulfate,0.02 M copper(II),1.0 M ammonia,and 0.24 M sulfite.Under these conditions,a maximum gold leaching efficiency of 85.05%was obtained.

THIOUREA LEACHING OF GOLD FROM A CALCINE OF GOLD-BEARING ARSENICAL PYRITE CONCENTRATE

The thiourea leaching of gold from the calcine of gold-bearing arsenical pyrite concentrate of Kangjiawan mine was studied.The effects of the leaching time,the concentrations of thiourea,hydrochloric acid and initial ferric ion on the leaching recovery of gold were investigated,and a regressive model has been established,which showed that the concentrations of thiourea and hydrochloric acid were the most important factors,leaching time the second,and concentration of the initial ferric ion the least・Under the optimal conditions,that is,temperature 50℃,the ratio of liquid to solid 4:1,thiourea 12g/L,hydrochloric acid 1 mol/L,and initial ferric ion 1 g/L,the leaching recoveries of gold and silver were more than 81%and 73%,respectively.The increase of silver recovery and the reduction of thiourea consumption could be attained when sodium sulphite was added.