Abstract
In the present study, silver sulfide cyanide leaching was initially studied using synthetic Ag 2S and oxygen. Qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses were employed to determine which species (S 2−, S 2O 3 2−, SO 3 2−, SO 4 2−, H 2O 2, or SCN −) were present in solution. The results made it possible to establish the stoichiometric relationships of the reactions under consideration. It was found that thiosulfate ion is the dominant sulfur species. In the second part, the kinetics of silver extraction were determined for a mineral concentrate. The sodium cyanide and oxygen concentrations were varied to define the diffusional and reaction phenomena that occur during leaching at constant temperature and pressure. A mathematical model for silver leaching by cyanidation, which considers the redox reaction and complex equilibria in the solution phase, was developed. Silver sulfide leaching from mineral particles was found to be a kinetically controlled process, strongly influenced by solubility phenomena. The experimental results agreed with those predicted by the proposed model.
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