Cyanide recovery by tailings washing and pond stripping

Adams, M.D.; Lloyd, Vincent

doi:10.1016/j.mineng.2008.02.015

Cited by 24 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The tailings are washed with metal absorbing thickeners and the metals are then removed from the thickener overflow (Adams & Lloyd 2008). Thickeners are applied at a high rate to ensure metal-tailings separation.…”

Section: Washingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of the potential role of electrokinetics technology in tailings dewatering and minerals recovery

Kalumba¹,

Mudenge²

2019

Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Paste, Thickened and Filtered Tailings

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Water is employed as a cost-effective media of transporting tailings; a mixture of ground waste ore, water and chemicals used in metal extraction processes. Tailings are conveyed in pipelines from the plant to the tailings dam. From the dam, the water should be recycled back to the processing plant but herein lies the challenge. The hydraulic conductivity of fine-grained tailings is very low such that instead of draining, the water tends to accumulate in the dam. Not only does this led to pore water pressure build up which undermines the dam's stability, but it also causes massive water losses by evaporation more so in arid regions. Dewatering of tailings prior to disposal has emerged as a solution that can be used to conserve water by producing paste or thickened tailings. Thickened tailings have higher shear strength, lower volume and they reduce dam closure costs. Filtered tailings can also be used as underground backfill for mine cavities or transported with conveyor belts and trucks to a designated point. The main limitation is that the benefits of dewatering are mainly technical and they do not yield a direct financial return. Processes that increase mineral production are vital in mine operations. Apart from the residue of the targeted metal, most tailings contain base metals like copper, nickel and zinc. Some mines have already established systems to extract valuable minerals from tailings; these include DRDGold, Lonmin and Sibanye mines in South Africa. Dewatering systems are designed to be in close contact with tailings and if they can perform the dual function of recovering water while extracting metals, they would fully meet the demands of the mining industry. One of the most efficient techniques which can harness both dewatering and metal extraction is electrokinetics. Electrokinetics involves the application of an electrical current to induce the flow of water from the anode to the cathode in a process called electroosmosis. Electrokinetics also induces the migration of ions in a phenomenon termed electro migration. The metal cations precipitate at the cathode where they are collected and dried. This paper evaluates the viability of using an electrokinetic system to dewater and extract metals from tailings. Introducing a mineral extracting function could well be the key to increase the usage of tailings dewatering techniques by mines.

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Section: Washingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of the potential role of electrokinetics technology in tailings dewatering and minerals recovery

Kalumba¹,

Mudenge²

2019

Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Paste, Thickened and Filtered Tailings

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“…This is the predominant process in the gold extraction industry that has been applied commercially since 1887 (Adams and Lloyd, 2008). Gold occurs in multi-phase mineralization including base-metal-rich mesothermal and base-metalpoor epithermal assemblages; it is recovered by a combination of amalgamation with mercury and leaching with cyanide (Carling et al, 2013).…”

Section: Gold Mining Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Bioremediation of soil and water polluted by cyanide: A review

Lovasoa¹,

Karoui²,

Andrianisa³

et al. 2017

Afr. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…Um estudo de caso para a estimativa dos custos de diversos processos de regeneração e degradação de cianeto foi realizado por Adams e Lloyd (11) para um efluente contendo uma concentração de 605 mg/L de CN TOTAL . Os processos que empregaram sulfato ferroso, SO 2 /ar (Processo Inco) e peróxido de hidrogênio apresentaram os menores custos específicos do efluente tratado, R$ 0,50, R$ 1,14 e R$ 2,11, respectivamente.…”

Section: Dutra; Lemosunclassified

Recuperação De Metais De Efluentes De Cianídricos De Mineração De Ouro Com Catodos De Aço Inoxidável Aisi 304 E Titânio

Dutra

Lemos

2011

TMM

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O presente trabalho apresenta um estudo comparativo entre telas de aço inoxidável e de titânio, como catodo, com vistas ao desempenho energético e às taxas de remoção de metais. Foram empregadas ferramentas estatísticas visando a identificação das variáveis significativas no processo de recuperação eletrolítica de ouro, prata e cobre e oxidação do cianeto de efluentes da mineração de ouro. Para uma solução sintética contendo, respectivamente, 0,5 mg/L de ouro, 7,5 mg/L de prata, 150 mg/L de cobre e 150 mg/L de cianeto livre. Empregando-se catodos de aço inoxidável após 180 minutos de eletrólise, foram obtidas remoções de cobre e prata em torno de 99,6% e 95,5%, respectivamente, além da completa remoção do ouro. Com catodos de titânio, nas mesmas condições, a recuperação de cobre foi de 99,3%, além de ter sido obtida uma completa remoção do ouro e da prata. Em ambos os casos, a oxidação de cianeto fica próxima a 99%. O consumo energético específico médio obtido com o catodo de titânio foi de 66,19 kWh/kg de metal, enquanto que, com o de aço inoxidável, foi de 88,29 kWh/kg.

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Cyanide recovery by tailings washing and pond stripping

Cited by 24 publications

References 6 publications

Review of the potential role of electrokinetics technology in tailings dewatering and minerals recovery

Review of the potential role of electrokinetics technology in tailings dewatering and minerals recovery

Bioremediation of soil and water polluted by cyanide: A review

Recuperação De Metais De Efluentes De Cianídricos De Mineração De Ouro Com Catodos De Aço Inoxidável Aisi 304 E Titânio

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