Roasting of refractory gold and silver concentrate

Authors

  • J. H. Coronado Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Metalurgia, Universidad de Sonora
  • M. A. Encinas Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Metalurgia, Universidad de Sonora
  • J. C. Leyva Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Metalurgia, Universidad de Sonora
  • J. L. Valenzuela Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Metalurgia, Universidad de Sonora
  • A. Valenzuela Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Metalurgia, Universidad de Sonora
  • G. T. Munive Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Metalurgia, Universidad de Sonora

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/revmetalm.1102

Keywords:

Roasting, Refractory minerals, Cyanidation

Abstract


In processing of precious metal ores with high pyrite content, refractory concentrates are obtained, which are difficult to process. A refractory gold and silver concentrate was leached with sodium cyanide. Results show low extraction percentages, being 34 % of gold and 40 % of silver. A roasting method to oxidize the concentrate was used, making it more susceptible to cyanidation, hence a more efficient way to extract precious metals. The variables include roasting temperature and roasting and cyanidation time. In addition, the hot calcine was added to the leaching solution at room temperature to analyze the effect on particle size and recovery. The best results, although not entirely satisfactory (50 % of gold and 61 % of silver) were obtained by roasting the concentrate for 4 h at 600 °C, followed by cyanidation for 20 h. The lime consumption to raise the pH to about 11.3 was increased markedly to 25 kg/m3.

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References

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Published

2012-06-30

How to Cite

Coronado, J. H., Encinas, M. A., Leyva, J. C., Valenzuela, J. L., Valenzuela, A., & Munive, G. T. (2012). Roasting of refractory gold and silver concentrate. Revista De Metalurgia, 48(3), 165–174. https://doi.org/10.3989/revmetalm.1102

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