Managing copper in leach solution at the Çöpler gold mine: laboratory testing and process design

Botz, M.M.; Kaczmarek, Anna; Orser, S.

doi:10.1007/bf03402245

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…Furthermore, zinc can be completely recovered for pH higher than 2.5, and copper reaches recovery values of 100% for pH lower than 4.0. These results are accordant with experimental and operational results of different SART process studies [1,10,11,16,28] where copper can achieve recovery values higher than These results show the high metal-cyanide complexes present in a cyanide solution when pH values are higher than 10.0 (Figure 3a). Thus, the free cyanide concentration fixed at 100 mg/Lfor typical gold cyanidation conditions (Ph = 10.5)-is equivalent to approximately 4% of the weak acid dissolved (WAD) cyanide concentration.…”

Section: Operational Conditions and Metal Recoveriessupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Operational Conditions and Metal Recoveriessupporting

confidence: 88%

“…For this purpose, milk of lime is added in the neutralization reactor to achieve pH 10.5, generating gypsum which is separated in sequential steps of thickening and filtering [1][2][3]. This conventional configuration in the SART flow-sheet has been applied successfully in different gold plants with high copper content in their cyanide solutions, such as Telfer, Lluvia de Oro, Yanacocha, Gedabek, Mastra, Maricunga, and Copler [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. The unit operations described earlier could also use to recover zinc as ZnS in gold cyanidation plants with high cyanide-soluble zinc content ores, according to the reaction [1,11] Zn(CN) 2− 4…”

Section: Sart Process Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Two-Stage SART Process: A Feasible Alternative for Gold Cyanidation Plants with High Zinc and Copper Contents

2018

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The SART (sulfidization, acidification, recycling, and thickening) process (SP) has been successfully implemented in gold cyanidation plants to address issues associated with high cyanide-soluble copper content ores. However, this process could produce a relatively low grade precipitate, decreasing the sale price when gold plants have high zinc and copper content in their solutions. A potential option in this case would be the use of a two-stage SART process (TSSP) to produce separate zinc and copper precipitates. The additional equipment involved with this process would increase the capital cost, thereby generating concerns about the optimal range of metal contents that could justify this option. This study presents a methodology to quantify the feasible range of Cu/Zn concentrations that would justify a two-stage SART process. The study is based on a thermodynamic model and a simple economic evaluation. Results show the TSSP is preferred when the Cu/Zn ratio ranges between 0.2 and 1.5 with copper concentration higher than 500 mg/L. The TSSP appears to be a viable option to consider for gold plants having concentrations of copper and zinc higher than 200 mg/L for both metals.

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Section: Operational Conditions and Metal Recoveriessupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Operational Conditions and Metal Recoveriessupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Sart Process Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Two-Stage SART Process: A Feasible Alternative for Gold Cyanidation Plants with High Zinc and Copper Contents

2018

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“…High temperature leaching will require a cool down period to temperatures where adequate adsorption can take place. The sensitivity of Pt and Pd adsorption to the presence and co-adsorption of base metals is problematic and dictates the necessity for a pre-removal step such as the SART process (Botz et al, 2011).…”

Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of temperature, cyanide and base metals on the adsorption of Pt, Pd and Au onto activated carbon

et al. 2014

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“…The copper and total cyanide concentration were fixed at 1800 mg/L and 2460 mg/L, respectively. The copper concentration was chosen based on the copper concentrations found in gold mining, which have high cyanide-soluble copper content in the ore [5,[24][25][26]. Moreover, the cyanide concentration was defined according to the cyanide associated to copper, in order to keep a free cyanide concentration of 100 mg/L; a typical value set in gold mining operations to ensure gold dissolution [2,27].…”

Section: Generation Of Precipitation Aggregatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determination of Size Distribution of Precipitation Aggregates Using Non-Invasive Microscopy and Semiautomated Image Processing and Analysis

et al. 2019

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Particle size distribution (PSD) determination is a typical practice for the characterization of the slurries generated in a precipitation plant. Furthermore, the precipitates generated in these processes form colloidal or aggregated suspensions. Nevertheless, the conventional methods used to estimate PSD (e.g., laser diffraction and/or a cyclosizer) have not been designed to measure particles that tend to aggregate or disaggregate, since they include external forces (e.g., centrifugal, agitation, pumping and sonication). These forces affect the true size of the aggregates formed in a unit operation, thereby losing representativeness in terms of aggregates particle size. This study presents an alternative method of measuring the size distribution of particles with aggregation behavior, particularly, by using non-invasive microscopy and image processing and analysis. The samples used were obtained from an experimental precipitation process by applying sulfidization to treat the cyanide-copper complexes contained in a cyanidation solution. This method has been validated with statistical tools and compared with a conventional analysis based on laser diffraction (Mastersizer). The PSD results obtained with optical microscopy show a bi-modal behavior of the precipitates. However this behavior could be not determined when using the laser diffraction technique. The PSD obtained for the sample tested by microscopy had a mean of 119.7 μm, a median of 147 μm and a 90% distribution reached a particle size of 312.5 μm. These values differ with those obtained by the laser diffraction technique. Our results show significant differences between the methods analyzed, demonstrating that the image processing and analysis obtained by optical microscopy is an excellent and non-invasive alternative to obtain size distributions of aggregates in precipitation processes.

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Managing copper in leach solution at the Çöpler gold mine: laboratory testing and process design

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Two-Stage SART Process: A Feasible Alternative for Gold Cyanidation Plants with High Zinc and Copper Contents

Two-Stage SART Process: A Feasible Alternative for Gold Cyanidation Plants with High Zinc and Copper Contents

The effect of temperature, cyanide and base metals on the adsorption of Pt, Pd and Au onto activated carbon

Determination of Size Distribution of Precipitation Aggregates Using Non-Invasive Microscopy and Semiautomated Image Processing and Analysis

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