Co-intensification of gold leaching with heavy metals and hydrogen peroxide

Co-intensification was researched to accelerate gold leaching with regards to its electrochemical nature by using anodic intensifiers of heavy metal ions (Pb2+,Bi3+,Tl+,Hg2+ and Ag+) on the basis of hydrogen peroxide assistant leaching on three different types of materials which were classified as a refractory sulphide gold concentrate,an easily leachable sulphide gold concentrate,and a low grade oxide gold ore according to their leaching characteristics.The results showed that,favorable co-intensification effects on the three materials were obtained and leaching time of gold was effectively shortened to no longer than 12 h from 16 to 24 h for hydrogen peroxide assistant leaching.For the five tested heavy metal ions,Bi3+and Tl+ presented co-intensifying effect on all the three materials,and Hg2+ caused co-intensifying effect on both refractory and easily leachable sulphide gold concentrates,and Pb2+ and Ag+ only had co-intensifying effect on the easily leachable sulphide gold concentrate.

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.

Effect of arsenopyrite on thiosulfate leaching of gold

Arsenopyrite was artificially added into the thiosulfate leaching solution to clarify the role of arsenopyrite on the thiosulfate leaching of gold.The effect of arsenopyrite on the thiosulfate leaching of gold was studied by the thermodynamic calculation,mineral dissolution test,leaching test and XPS analysis.The results show that the thiosulfate consumption slightly increases with increasing the concentration of arsenopyrite,but the gold dissolution is obviously hindered.This may mainly attribute to the catalytic effect of arsenopyrite on the thiosulfate decomposition and the formation of passivation layer on the gold foil surface.The passivation layer likely consists of Cu2S or Cu（S2O3）35-,element S,FeOOH and iron arsenate,which is deduced from the XPS analysis.However,the negative effect of arsenopyrite can be eliminated by adding additives.It is found that both additives of sodium carboxymethyl（CMC） and sodium phosphate（SHPP） can not only decrease the thiosulfate consumption but also improve the gold dissolution.

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.