Review of gold leaching in thiosulfate-based solutions

Abstract

Numerous non-cyanide leaching lixiviants have been developed, among which thiosulfate is considered the most promising alternative to cyanide due to its non-toxicity, low price, high leaching rate and excellent characteristics in dealing with carbonaceous and copper-bearing gold ores. The traditional copper−ammonia−thiosulfate system has been studied extensively. However, with many years of process development, there are still some problems and challenges with this gold leaching system. A series of studies using nickel-, cobalt- and ferric-based catalyst to substitute copper have been conducted with the purpose of reducing the consumption of thiosulfate. A variety of non-ammonia thiosulfate leaching systems including oxygen−thiosulfate, copper−thiosulfate, copper−EDA−thiosulfate, ferric− EDTA−thiosulfate, and ferric−oxalate−thiosulfate leaching systems have been also developed to eliminate the potential side-effect of ammonia. In this review, the basic theory and process development of some main gold leaching systems based on thiosulfate solutions were systematically summarized to illustrate the research status on thiosulfate leaching process. The potential effects of various additives such as organic ligands containing amino, carboxyl or hydroxy functional groups on gold thiosulfate leaching were described in detail. The potential opportunity and challenge for promoting the industrial development of thiosulfate-based gold leaching systems were also discussed.