Gold recovery from waste fine carbon using acetone as solvent (Amesmessa gold mine, Algeria)

Abstract

Purpose. The aim of this work at the first stage is to develop a new method to recover gold from waste fine loaded activated carbon. At the second stage, a new method is to be developed using less energy and less hazardous chemicals to recover gold from fine and coarse activated carbon in all the process of gold ore treatment. Methodology. The desorption of gold cyanide from the waste fine loaded activated carbon was processed by agitating the carbon on alkaline aqueous solution containing 20 % (v/v) of acetone (pH between 10 and 13) at room temperature. Findings. The application of the proposed method gave satisfactory results in terms of process efficiency, the time of operation and no use of hazardous chemicals such as cyanide. The efficiency is more than 96 %, the resident time – less than 3 h. As for the hazardous chemicals, there is no use of cyanide unlike in the conventional process. Originality. The use of acetone as an organic solvent makes the gold cyanide desorption from activated carbon operated at room temperature and in short time better than any other conventionel process. Practical value. This method allows to recover easily and economically the gold entrapped into waste activated carbon existing in a mining plant at room temperature in an agitating tank, pH = 10–13 with an efficiency over 96 %. This method can be a good alternative for all gold recovery processes from activated carbon used nowadays.