Efficiency of using peroxide-carbonate compounds in reagent complexes for leaching gold hard to recover from placer

The article deals with the data of theoretical and experimental studies of the processes of activation gold leaching using reactive peroxide carbonate compounds, obtained by electrophotochemical treatment of solutions of initial reagents of the corresponding composition, in the composition of reagent complexes. The obtained results of the experiments on the interaction of various carbonate and peroxide-carbonate compounds with sodium cyanide in the process of mixing activated and non-activated solutions with aqueous cyanide solutions in different order definitely prove that supramolecular percarbonate-cyanide compounds are being formed in them. It has been established that these activated solutions, prepared on the basis of the initial hydrocarbonate ones, contain metastable compounds that provide a higher rate of gold extraction from crude minerals than standard aqueous cyanic solutions of the same initial concentration.

Identification and Characterization of mRNA Biomarkers for Sodium Cyanide Exposure

Biomarkers in exposure assessment are defined as the quantifiable targets that indicate the exposure to hazardous chemicals and their resulting health effect. In this study, we aimed to identify, validate, and characterize the mRNA biomarker that can detect the exposure of sodium cyanide. To identify reliable biomarkers for sodium cyanide exposure, critical criteria were defined for candidate selection: (1) the expression level of mRNA significantly changes in response to sodium thiocyanate treatment in transcriptomics results (fold change > 2.0 or <0.50, adjusted p-value < 0.05); and (2) the mRNA level is significantly modulated by sodium cyanide exposure in both normal human lung cells and rat lung tissue. We identified the following mRNA biomarker candidates: ADCY5, ANGPTL4, CCNG2, CD9, COL1A2, DACT3, GGCX, GRB14, H1F0, HSPA1A, MAF, MAT2A, PPP1R10, and PPP4C. The expression levels of these candidates were commonly downregulated by sodium cyanide exposure both in vitro and in vivo. We functionally characterized the biomarkers and established the impact of sodium cyanide on transcriptomic profiles using in silico approaches. Our results suggest that the biomarkers may contribute to the regulation and degradation of the extracellular matrix, leading to a negative effect on surrounding lung cells.

Generation of sodium cyanide by coal gasification for gold recovery factories

The aim was to assess the technological feasibility of generating sodium cyanide by coal gasification, to study the effects of the process parameters (temperature, experiment duration, coal type) on the concentration of sodium cyanide in the resulting solutions, as well as to identify optimal modes of the process. Experiments were carried out on a laboratory setup consisting of a tubular cylindrical furnace equipped with a working compartment in the form of a corundum tube. Lignite and charcoal, preliminarily crushed to increase the specific surface area, were investigated. A solution of sodium cyanide was produced by sorption of gaseous hydrocyanic acid (a syngas component) with a sodium carbonate solution. A NaOH solution (pH = 10) installed in an ice bath was used in the system of absorbers. The content of sodium cyanide in the solution was determined by the titrimetric method. The HSC Chemistry 5.1 software package was used for thermodynamic calculations. During the gasification of charcoal in the temperature range 600–800oC, sodium cyanide solutions with a concentration of 0.03–0.08 wt% were obtained. An increase in temperature from 600 to 900oC led to a 4-fold decrease in the concentration of sodium cyanide in an alkaline solution, under the same duration of the experiments. A regression equation was derived for the dependence of the NaCN concentration in solution on the temperature of coal gasification and the duration of the process. It was shown that the generation of sodium cyanide by coal gasification under laboratory conditions yields sodium cyanide concentrations in solution comparable to those used for gold cyanidation at gold recovery plants. The installation of sodium cyanide generation lines directly at the production areas of gold recovery plants will reduce the production costs by eliminating expenses for purchasing, transporting and storing reagents.

Configuration of flowsheet and reagent dosage for gilsonite flotation towards the ultra-low-ash concentrate

Gilsonite has a wide variety of applications in the industry, including the manufacture of electrodes, paints and resins, as well as the production of asphalt and roof-waterproofing material. Gilsonite ash is a determining parameter for its application in some industries (e.g., gilsonite with ash content < 5% used as an additive in drilling fluids, resins). Due to the shortage of high grade (low ash) gilsonite reserves, the aim of this study is to develop a processing flowsheet for the production of ultra-low-ash gilsonite (< 5%), based on process mineralogy studies and processing tests. For this purpose, mineralogical studies and flotation tests have been performed on a sample of gilsonite with an average ash content of 15%. According to mineralogical studies, carbonates and clay minerals are the main associated impurities (more than 90 vol.%). Furthermore, sulfur was observed in two forms of mineral (pyrite and marcasite) and organic in the structure of gilsonite. Most of these impurities are interlocked with gilsonite in size fractions smaller than 105 µm. The size fraction of + 105 − 420 µm has a higher pure gilsonite (approximately 90%) than other size fractions. By specifying the gangue minerals with gilsonite and the manner and extent of their interlocking with gilsonite, + 75 − 420 µm size fraction selected to perform flotation tests. Flotation tests were performed using different reagents including collector (Gas oil, Kerosene and Pine oil), frother (MIBC) and depressant (sodium silicate, tannic acid, sulfuric acid and sodium cyanide) in different dosages. Based on the results, the use of kerosene collector, MIBC frother and a mixture of sodium silicate, tannic acid, sulfuric acid and sodium cyanide depressant had the most favorable results in gilsonite flotation in the rougher stage. Cleaner and recleaner flotation stages for the rougher flotation concentrate resulted in a product with an ash content of 4.89%. Due to the interlocking of gilsonite with impurities in size fractions − 105 µm, it is better to re-grinding the concentrate of the rougher stage beforehand flotation in the cleaner and recleaner stages. Finally, based on the results of mineralogical studies and processing tests, a processing flowsheet including crushing and initial granulation of gilsonite, flotation in rougher, cleaner and recleaner stages has been proposed to produce gilsonite concentrate with < 5% ash content.

Simulation-Based Analysis of Hydrometallurgical Processes. Case Study: Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ecuador

In this work, two hydrometallurgical processes for gold recovery are explored for a small-scale gold mining case study located at Ponce Enriquez, Azuay, Ecuador. The hydrometallurgical systems consider the use of sodium cyanide and sodium thiosulfate as leaching agents, with and without the incorporation of a subsystem for residual mercury removal. The proposed processes are modelled using the commercial simulator PRO/II interconnected with a Python scientific computing environment for performing stochastic simulations. Monte Carlo simulations, in which the conversion of the main units and the prices of gold vary following a random uniform distribution, permit observing the effects of these uncertainties on key recovery and economic indicators. The results facilitate the correlation between the inputs and outputs of interest as well as the visualization of the outputs variability for an adequate assessment of the systems under study by following a technical and social responsibility approach.

Influence of the ore reduction method on the percolation leaching efficiency

This paper covers gold leaching from sulfide ores. The data on the silicate, mineral, and grain-size composition are presented for the ore studied. Agitation leaching studies were completed for the combined sample and direct cyanidation dynamics indicators are established for the material sample. For all material with the grain size class of 95 % passing –0.074 mm, the required agitation leaching duration is 9–10 hours; with the material sizes up to 2 mm, the leaching duration shall be at least 22 hours. In order to study the efficiency of using roller presses as an alternative to fine crushing, two percolation leaching tests were conducted for the ore size of –5 mm. The material for the first test was prepared by crushing in a standard jaw crusher and the material for the second test was prepared by crushing in a laboratory press with complex monolayer reduction. It has been found that ore reduction using high-pressure crushers, as compared to standard crushing equipment, allows increasing gold recovery during subsequent leaching by 13.52 %. At the same time, the consumption of sodium cyanide increases by 0.26 kg/t of ore.

A new synthetic method toward a key intermediate in the total synthesis of alkannin and shikonin

In the present work, a new synthetic method toward a key intermediate in the total synthesis of alkannin and shikonin is developed. The key intermediate, 4-methyl-1-(naphtho[1,8- de:4,5- d’e’]bis([1,3]dioxine)-4-yl)pent-3-en-1-one (5), is synthesized via the reaction of 1,8:4,5-bis(methylenedioxy)naphthalene-2-carboxylic acid N-methoxy- N-methylamide with prenyllithium. This synthetic approach avoids the use of N-methoxy- N,4-dimethylpent-3-enamide, which is not easy to obtain, and the toxic reagent sodium cyanide.

Configuration of Flowsheet and Reagent Dosage for Gilsonite Flotation Towards the Ultra-Low-Ash Concentrate

Gilsonite is a natural occurrence of bitumen and consists of a complex structure of organic compounds. Gilsonite has a wide variety of applications in the industry, including the manufacture of electrodes, paints and resins, as well as the production of asphalt and roof-waterproofing material. Ash content of gilsonite is a determining parameter for its application in some industries (e.g., ash content <5% as an additive in drilling fluids, Resins). In this study, a process mineralogy approach used in order to design an optimal flotation circuit for the production of gilsonite concentrate with ultra-low ash content (<5%) from gilsonite ore with an average ash content of 15%. According to mineralogical studies, carbonates and clay minerals are the main associated impurities (more than 90 vol.%). Furthermore, sulfur was observed in two forms of mineral (pyrite and marcasite) and organic in the structure of gilsonite. Most of these impurities are interlocked with gilsonite in size fractions smaller than 105 µm. In addition, the size of +105 µm to 420 µm has a higher pure gilsonite (approximately 90%) than other size fractions. The effect of different reagent regime on the production of low ash content concentration in gilsonite flotation are investigated. Based on the results, 400 g/ton of kerosene collector led to the production of a concentrate with the lowest amount of ash (6.36%) in the rougher stage. In addition, the highest amount of recovery (80.83%) were obtained in gilsonite flotation with kerosene collector. The use of depressants in the rougher stage increased the gilsonite recovery by 3.5% and slightly reduced the ash content (less than 0.20%) of gilsonite concentrate. In general, gilsonite flotation with 400 g/ton kerosene collector, 100 g/ton from a mixture of sodium silicate, tannic acid, sulfuric acid and sodium cyanide depressants, and the use of 100 g/ton MIBC resulted in the production of a concentrate with the lowest amount of ash (6.36%) in the rougher flotation stage. Cleaner and recleaner flotation for the rougher flotation concentrate resulted in a product with an ash content of 4.89% and recovery of 86.75%. Due to the interlocking of gilsonite with impurities in size fractions smaller than 105 µm, it is better to re-grinding the concentrate of rougher stage then flotation done in the cleaner and recleaner stages. Finally, flowsheet has been proposed to produce gilsonite with the least ash.