Extracting gold from oxide and sulphide minerals by chloridation - Hydrometallurgy: Leaching in Heap, Vat, CIL, CIP, Merrill–Crowe, SX Solvent Extraction - Metallurgist & Mineral Processing Engineer

To participate in the 911Metallurgist Forums, be sure to JOIN & LOGIN
Use Add New Topic to ask a New Question/Discussion about Hydrometallurgy.
OR Select a Topic that Interests you.
Use Add Reply = to Reply/Participate in a Topic/Discussion (most frequent).
Using Add Reply allows you to Attach Images or PDF files and provide a more complete input.
Use Add Comment = to comment on someone else’s Reply in an already active Topic/Discussion.

← Back to Hydrometallurgy: Leaching in Heap, Vat, CIL, CIP, Merrill–Crowe, SX Solvent Extraction...

Extracting gold from oxide and sulphide minerals by chloridation (4 replies and 2 comments)

7 years ago

Hello everyone,

Did anyone of you use the chloride as solvent in order to extract gold from the oxide and sulphide bearing gold minerals?

Thanks for your intrest.

Regards.

mikerockandel

7 years ago

mikerockandel 7 years ago

1 like by ebats

Chlorine not chloride. Can use peroxide plus HCl as well.

http://www.rockandel.com/

Richard S

7 years ago

Richard S 7 years ago

1 like by ebats

We have a process test facility that is equipped with pressure leach vessels that can use chlorine and oxygen for leaching or chlorine containing salts. We also have AA and ICP analysis available as well as fire assay analysis. If this could be of interest to you in regards to your question about using chlorine to leach gold, we would be pleased to discuss with you further. Let us know with some contact information. We can try to more specifically answer your specific questions.

http://www.kuntermetallurgy.com/

Deano

7 years ago

Deano 7 years ago

1 like by David

If running as an actual chlorine leach you want to add around 4% common salt to speed up the reaction and minimise chlorine consumption.

Has to be done in a sealed vessel under pressure.

You really do not want to be around when the leach vessel is opened.

If all of the sulfides have not been fully degraded then there will be a lot of gold adsorbed on them.

A lot of the silver will not report in the solution, this silver chloride will have substantial levels of gold co-precipitated with it.

If you want all of the silver and gold to stay in solution you have to use > 20% common salt in your leaching solution as well as having free chlorine at the end of the leach.

Best way to run a chlorine leach is to actually run a hypochlorous leach at pH7 - 8.

Virtually no free chlorine evolution if maintained in this pH slot.

Use calcium hypochlorite as your starting reagent.

Above comments regarding salt and sulfides apply to this leach.

omer.canieren

7 years ago

Leaching gold by using in a sealed vessel under pressure is probably going to be tricky for me. Do you advice to me a different solvent instead of cyanide for extraction without using pressure tank.
Thank you.

mikerockandel

7 years ago

Not how it is done when treating copper refinery slimes. Do not solubilize silver, left as AgCl and definitely not under pressure, but of course ventilated

Deano

7 years ago

Deano 7 years ago

When leaching ores the variation in chlorine requirements between batches is always the great unknown.

To allow for possible component ranges an excess of chlorine is used.

In small scale operations trying to run a recycling type ventilated system with inexperienced operators is difficult and expensive.

If you want to run a relatively cheap chloride system use a hypochlorous leach as above.

Best run in vat form with all plastic wetted surfaces, gold adsorbed onto carbon in columns.

Please join and login to participate and leave a comment.