Removal of copper cyanide complexes from solutions formed in silver/gold -cyanidation recovery process

José R. Parga*, Jesús L. Valenzuela, Luciano E. Ramirez

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

An innovative process for removing copper cyanide complexes including silver and zinc from cyanidation circuits has been developed. The technology was based on the inducing the nucleated precipitation of copper and silver in a tube serpentine reactor, using sodium sulfide as the precipitate and sulfuric acid as pH control. The results showed that pH had a great effect on copper cyanide removal efficiency and the optimum pH was about 3 to 3.5. At this pH value copper cyanide removal efficiency could be achieved above 97 and 99%, when influent copper concentration ions were 650 and 900 ppm respectively. In this process (sulphidizaton-acidification-recycle-thickening), the cyanide associated with the copper cyanide complexes is released as HCN gas under weakly acidic conditions, allowing it to be recycled back to the cyanidation process as free cyanide. This system was successfully commercial applied at Minera William in Mexico.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationExtraction and Processing Division - 2012 EPD Congress - Held During the TMS 2012 Annual Meeting and Exhibition
PublisherMinerals, Metals and Materials Society
Pages263-270
Number of pages8
ISBN (Print)9781118291405
DOIs
StatePublished - 2012
Event2012 EPD Congress - TMS 2012 Annual Meeting and Exhibition - Orlando, FL, United States
Duration: 11 Mar 201215 Mar 2012

Publication series

NameTMS Annual Meeting

Conference

Conference2012 EPD Congress - TMS 2012 Annual Meeting and Exhibition
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityOrlando, FL
Period11/03/1215/03/12

Keywords

  • Copper recovery
  • Cyanide recovery
  • Precipitation copper
  • Subsidization

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