Selection of a leaching system for the extraction of gold from the ore of the Byn’govskoye deposit

Abstract

A theoretical substantiation of an environmentally friendly technology for extracting gold from mineral raw materials is presented. In terms of an alternative to conventional cyanide, the authors propose chlorine-bearing derivatives of organic isocyanuric acid (C3H3N3O3). In the studied process, this reagent combines the roles of a long-acting oxidant and complexing agent due to the resulting Cl– ion. For experimental purposes, the rotating disc technique was applied. Experimental results were evaluated by measuring the concentration of gold in solutions using the atomic adsorption method. The theoretical characteristics of gold dissolution using the proposed reagent were studied. In order to evaluate the applicability of the revealed regularities for practical purposes, comparative indicators for leaching gold from the ore of the Byn’govskoye deposit (Sverdlovsk Oblast) using the proposed reagent, cyanide and CYCAD cyanide substitute (China) were evaluated. The dependence of the gold disc dissolution rate on temperature, as well as leaching reagent and hydrochloric acid concentrations, were studied. In disc sample experiments, the exponential dependence of the dissolution rate on the concentration of the studied reagent was established. In this case, the maximum intensity of the process is achieved at a concentration higher than 50 g/dm3. The optimum acidity level comprises 0.3–0.4 g ion/dm3 of hydrochloric acid. Despite an increase in temperature being shown to accelerate the dissolution process, this appears to be technologically unjustified. Under optimal conditions, the gold disc dissolution rate reaches 0.5•10-3 g ion/(cm2•min), which is approximately one hundred times higher than during the dissolution by the cyanic solutions in conventional modes. Close gold extraction values were achieved in the solutions of cyanides and chlorine-bearing derivatives of isocyanuric acid during the leaching of gold from the ore under the comparable conditions. For CYCAD solutions, the same indicator is two times lower. The results of the performed studies demonstrate the high dissolution rate of gold using the proposed reagent along with the technological possibility of leaching gold from ores using this environmentally friendly reagent.