Abstract
The simultaneous dissolution of gold and uranium dioxide in solutions containing sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and potassium cyanide has been studied. The effect of the presence of 0.025% potassium cyanide on the dissolution rate of uranium dioxide alone has been studied at different temperatures. The effect of 4% sodium carbonate and 1.5% sodium bicarbonate on the dissolution rate of gold has similarly been investigated. The presence of potassium cyanide proved to have little effect on the dissolution rate of uranium dioxide within the temperature range 30°–80°C. The decrease in the rate of dissolution of gold, in the presence of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate, is attributed to the lower pH (10.2) and resulting lower cyanide ion concentration of the system, compared to that of the industrial cyanide solution (11.8). Whereas the dissolution rate of uranium dioxide is temperature dependent that of gold is approximately temperature independent in the range 60–80°C. It was found that 85% of the uranium dioxide and 95% of the gold could be dissolved in a simultaneous leach.
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