Pressure oxidation of refractory gold-bearing concentrates using halogen-containing solvents and adsorbent

Abstract

Platsol TM is a new single step, pressure leaching process developed at SGS by International PGM Technologies to recover platinum group metals (PGMs), gold and base metals such as Cu, Ni and Co from a variety of high and low grade ores, concentrates, mattes, autocatalysts and other industrial products. Platsol TM is a technically-viable alternative to smelting, and could be a particularly attractive alternative for the treatment of feeds that are lower grade in PGM and sulphides, and feeds that contain impurities that are difficult to treat in a smelter. PROCESS DESCRIPTION Platsol TM is a high temperature (>200 O C) pressure leaching process, in which the base metal sulphides are oxidised with oxygen to soluble metal sulphate complexes and sulphuric acid, while gold and the PGMs are solubilised as chlorocomplexes, by the addition of a small amount of chloride salt to the autoclave feed.