Abstract
SYNOPSIS Methods for treating and processing refractory gold ores are well established. However, what is less well understood is how the formation of the gold-bearing deposits affects gold processing and extraction. In order to evaluate the effect of ore genesis on gold extraction a number of South African gold deposits were studied. These included complex Pilgrim's Rest samples as well as refractory Fairview, Barbrook, and Consolidated Murchison samples. We found the refractory nature of gold ores is controlled by a limited number of well-understood mineralogical factors. Solid solution gold is linked to low temperature and pressure conditions in fine-grained sedimentary lithologies, while reactive pyrrhotite can form from hydrothermal fluids associated with mafic magmatic rocks. These formational controls can be used to identify and avoid complex deposits at a desktop study phase, or address and reduce complications further along the pipeline using early mineralogical studies. Keywords: gold processing, refractory gold, ore mineralogy.
Highlights
Gold has been an important commodity throughout much of human history, and is thought to be one of the earliest metals mined (Kongolo and Mwema, 1998; Reardon, 2011)
We found the refractory nature of gold ores is controlled by a limited number of well-understood mineralogical factors
Gold recovery from stream bed sediments involved manual or gravity-based separation methods; beyond this, little advancement took place until underground mining was initiated in Russia in 1744, where crushing, gravity concentration, and amalgamation were used for gold extraction (Bath and Duncan, 1973; Kongolo and Mwema, 1998; Burt 1999)
Summary
Gold has been an important commodity throughout much of human history, and is thought to be one of the earliest metals mined (Kongolo and Mwema, 1998; Reardon, 2011). Gold recovery from stream bed sediments involved manual or gravity-based separation methods; beyond this, little advancement took place until underground mining was initiated in Russia in 1744, where crushing, gravity concentration, and amalgamation were used for gold extraction (Bath and Duncan, 1973; Kongolo and Mwema, 1998; Burt 1999). In the past 15 years, only an extremely limited number of the discoveries that have been made could be considered world-class (greater than 15 million ounces) (Holmes, 2017). This declining state has forced the gold industry to rely on alternative methods for ensuring sufficient resources and reserves are owned in order to remain competitive and relevant
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