Gold Extraction from Refractory Minerals Using Acid Oxidative Pretreatment at Low Pressure: Gold Extraction from Refractory Minerals Using Acid Oxidative Pretreatment at Low Pressure

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Abstract

A study was carried out to process a sulfde mineral concentrate from Norwest of Mexico containing 97 g/t Au, 0.15% Cu, and 15% Fe. An oxidative acid pretreatment was investigated using ferric sulfate as oxidant, followed by leaching of gold with sodium cyanide. Scanning electron microscopy, SEM-EDS, and X-ray difraction, XRD, the analysis confrms the presence of quartz and pyrite species. First, a leaching was carried out without pretreatment, at ambient conditions, T = 25 °C and P = 1 atm, obtaining only a 45.2% gold extraction. Once the presence of Fe and Cu sulfdes had been confrmed, the Eh-pH diagrams were constructed for the Fe-S-H2O and Cu-S-H2O systems, where it is appreciated that pyrite and chalcocite can dissolve with high oxidation potentials and forming sulfur, oxidizing to sulfate at highly acidic conditions. The oxidized concentrate was neutralized and adjusted to pH > 10.5; it was leached at ambient conditions, at diferent particle sizes, 44, 37, and 26.5μm, achieving an Au extraction of 75% using a concentration of 0.5% NaCN, 26.5μm particle size, 20% solids, and P = 1atm. Then the oxidized material was subjected to diferent temperatures, 25, 50, and 70 °C, under the same conditions and obtaining Au extractions up to 92% at 70°C. Additionally, the leaching process was compared using an autoclave reactor at moderate pressures, obtaining an increase in the extraction of Au up to 98% in 2 h, at T = 70 °C and P = 0.62 MPa.
Translated title of the contributionExtracción de oro a partir de minerales refractarios utilizando un Pretratamiento Ácido Oxidativo a Baja Presión: Extracción de oro a partir de minerales refractarios utilizando un Pretratamiento Ácido Oxidativo
Original languageAmerican English
Article number1
Pages (from-to)1
Number of pages11
JournalMINING, METALLURGY AND EXPLORATION
Volume39
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 23 Jan 2022

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