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.

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.

Kinetic features of gold cementation using dendritic zinc powders

The study covers kinetic features of gold cementation from cyanide solutions using two zinc powders of various origins. The first one was obtained by distillation and is currently applied in gold cementation from cyanide solutions (traditional powder). The second one was obtained by electrochemical reduction from the alkaline solution (experimental, electrolytic powder). The main distinguishing feature of these cementation powders is their specific surface area. This indicator for the electrolytic powder is 2.6 times higher than for the traditional one (3.02 m2 /g and 1.16 m2 /g, respectively) due to its dendritic form. The studies used a solution with a gold content of 50.8 μmol/dm3 and a sodium cyanide content of 0.04 mol/dm3 NaCN was taken. Cementation revealed a powder depassivation period associated with oxide film dissolution and overcoming diffusion difficulties. The traditional powder depassivation period (10–15 sec) exceeds that of the electrolytic powder (5–8 sec). Experimental rate constants of the cementation reaction were determined for the process involving both powders under study at different ratios of zinc and gold masses in the solution. Experimental reaction rate constants for the electrolytic powder under the studied conditions were 1.3– 1.6 times higher than that for the traditional powder. It was found that oxidation rates of zinc powders compared at different ratios of zinc and gold masses are virtually the same. At the same time, absolute rates of electrolytic powder dissolution in the initial period are nearly 2 times greater. As the powder reacts with the alkaline solution, absolute dissolution rates of electrolytic and traditional powders are equalized.

Gold Cementation by Dendritic Zinc Powders in Percolation Mode

In present article gold cementation features from cyanide solutions using dendritic zinc powders are studied. The powders were obtained by electroextraction from alkaline solutions. Powders with different physical properties were obtained by means of change in current density (from 0.5 to 2 A/m2) and NaOH concentration in solution (from 100 to 400 g/dm3) at the constant zinc concentration (10 g/dm3). The physical properties of mentioned powders were studied using SEM (Jeol JSM-6390LA), BET (Gemini VII 2390) and laser diffraction (Sympatec HELOS & RODOS). It is shown that electrolytic powders have high specific surface area, which is 1.8–2.6 times larger than the surface area of ​​the zinc powder currently used for cementation. At that electrolytic powders particle size is 8-22 times larger than the particle size of powder currently used for cementation. The reason of high specific surface area is the electrolytic zinc powders dendritic structure. It was found that the obtained powders precipitate gold from cyanide solutions with a greater efficiency in a wide range of productivity. Laboratory unit simulating Merrill-Crow technology was used for cementation. Immediately ahead conducting the experiments, Na2SO3 was added to the solution in excess to remove dissolved oxygen. Zinc powders were plated by dendritic lead before loading into the laboratory setup by cementation. Lead was added as acetate (Pb (CH3COO)2). The consumption of lead acetate was 10% by weight of zinc. Correlation between the powders physical properties and the gold extraction is shown.

Features of gold cementation in percolation mode by electrolytic zinc powders

The study covers physicochemical features of dendritic zinc powders and their effect on gold cementation from cyanide solutions. Three zinc powders were obtained in a laboratory environment by electroextraction at different conditions, and these powders featured various particle size and specific surface area. The properties of zinc powders obtained and powder currently used for gold cementation were evaluated using SEM (Jeol JSM-6390LA), BET (Gemini VII 2390) and laser diffraction (Sympatec HELOS & RODOS) methods. It is shown that electrolytic powders have high specific surface area (1.3–2.6 times more) and a low bulk density (3.1–3.8 times less), relative to zinc powder currently used for gold cementation. It was found that due to specific physical properties electrolytic powders have low hydraulic resistance, which eliminates the need for inert additives introduced during cementation, increases unit capacity and reduces the load on equipment. Inert additives elimination will additionally increase the gold content in the resulting product. The dendritic morfology of zinc powders obtained compensates high particle size resulting in the high efficiency of gold precipitation. At the long cementation cycle the effective gold deposition area (with gold extraction of more than 97 %) turned out to be shorter for electrolytic powder compared to fine powder currently used. However, in practice, the cementation cycle is always limited by fine powder throughput and it is not possible to achieve the full zinc potential. The resulting cementation product usually contains 25–35 % of unused zinc. These studies show the effectiveness of using electrolytic zinc powder for gold cementation from cyanide solutions.

Production and Characterization of Activated Carbon from Coal for Gold Adsorption in Cyanide Solutions

In this work, activated carbons were produced using coal as raw matter from seven Colombian carboniferous zones. Physical activation was performed in two stages: a carbonization stage with Nitrogen at a temperature of 850 °C and a residence time of 2 h, followed by an activation stage using steam at temperatures of 700 and 850 °C with residence times of 1,5 h and 2,5 h. From the pore volume characterization for the adsorption of gold, two activated carbons from Cundinamarca, obtained at 850 °C (1,5 h), 850 °C (2,5 h), and a commercial carbon (GRC 22) were selected. Gold adsorption tests were performed with those three activated carbons using synthetic aurocyanide solutions and a gold waste solution. The data of the adsorption isotherms were adjusted using the Freundlich adsorption model for the synthetic solution, as well as Langmuir for the waste solution. The results showed that, using a solution of 1 ppm, the activated carbons C-850-2.5 and C- 850-1.5 produced the higher maximum gold loading capacities in the equilibrium (8,7 and 9,3 mg Au/g, respectively) in comparison to the commercial activated carbon (4,7 mg Au/g). Gold adsorption test using a waste solution (21 ppm of gold) showed that the activated carbon C-850-1.5 had the highest value of adsorption capacity (4,58 mg Au/g) compared to C-850-2.5 (2,95 mgAu /g).