Blogs

How Arsenic, Antimony Silver Compounds Affects Leaching

Ores containing silver in Arsenic and Antimony combinations offer considerable difficulties in cyanidation and it has usually been considered that the removal of these compounds by concentration was the only way to deal with them. G. H. Clevenger, however, when working on the ores of the Nipissing Mining Company of Ontario, Canada, found that by grinding exceedingly fine and treating

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Sulphide concentrate leaching

Table of ContentsCyanide consumptionCyanidation of Flotation Concentrate The question as to whether concentration shall be included in the treatment of a given ore will often depend on the possibility or otherwise of recovering the precious metals from the concentrate at the mine. It may be suggested that if the concentrate can be cyanided after being separated from the gangue, why can

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Effect of Manganese on Silver Leaching

In Mexico and elsewhere there are large bodies of valuable silver ore containing manganese which present great, and hitherto insuperable, obstacles to a satisfactory extraction by cyanide. The proportion of the silver that is soluble in cyanide varies greatly and may be as low as 5% only. The mere presence of manganese in the ore is not invariably accompanied by

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How Arsenic Affects Cyanidation Leaching of Gold

The Influence of Arsenic in the Cyanidation of Gold Ores is explained by W. B. Blyth has he is of the opinion that the presence of arsenic in an ore does not necessarily cause that ore to be refractory to cyanide treatment. He thinks the idea arose from the fact that arsenic is so often accompanied by antimony, pyrrhotite or graphite, stating

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Metallurgy for Recovering Gold from Telluride Ore

Table of ContentsRoastingTreating Raw with Bromocyanide Gold ore associated with Telluride is hardly soluble in ordinary cyanide solutions and special treatment is necessary for its extraction. There are two methods in use in such cases. Roasting The ore is ground dry to about 30 mesh and roasted; it is then ground to a slime in water or cyanide solution, usually in

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Discrepancy Between Actual and Expected Recovery: Gold Metallurgy Accounting

Table of ContentsPlant Tonnage MeasurementTonnage of Pulp, as Ascertained by Density DeterminationPossible Met Accounting Error Due to Density of SolutionMoisture Determination Preferred in Certain CasesSampling Mill Feed Head and Plant TailingsHow to Sample Mill Feed HeadsHow to Sample Plant Tailings ResiduesSampling Pulp at Different Stages of the Gold Leaching CircuitDiscrepancy in Assay of Leach Circuit Tailings Everyone connected with cyanide plants

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Continuous Gold Leaching and Tanks Short-Circuiting

Table of ContentsLoss in Extraction Due to Continuous SystemSlime Treatment by Leaching in Filter PressesWashing out Gold bearing Solution after the LeachingIncreasing the Dissolving Effect by a Succession of WashesImportance of Cyanide Strength in CyanidationEffect of Pulp Dilution on CyanidationTime of Agitation The system of continuous treatment consists in allowing the stream of pulp to flow continuously through a connecting series of agitator tanks, as

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Calculating Gold Losses in Continuous Countercurrent Decantation

Table of ContentsCalculations for Dissolved Gold Value LossCalculation for Mechanical Gold Loss of Cyanide This is an interesting development of the old decantation process, and while it contains the same principle, of displacement by successive dilutions, the action is much more rapid, the same result is attained by the use of considerably less barren solution and it is continuous in

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Pulp and Slurry Thickening Test and Calculations

Table of ContentsCoagulation of the Slime for SettlementRole of Electrolytes in Cyanide LeachingEffect of Lime Addition on Thickener Settling Rate The slime pulp or slurry on leaving the sand classifier with its proper admixture of lime is first led to some form of thickening device if, as is usually the case, the ratio of liquid to solid is too large for

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Leaching Fine Gold

Many definitions of the word “slime” have been attempted to Leaching Fine Gold but the one that best expresses its meaning from a practical point of view is that given by Park that it is that part of the pulverized ore that is not percolable on a commercial scale without the use of pressure. The consequences of this definition are

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Leaching Gold from Finely Crushed Ore (Sand Leach)

Table of ContentsSeparation of Sand and SlimeHamilton Collecting TankDouble TreatmentCaldecott’s Choke-discharge ConeHow to Leach GoldRetained MoistureDraining and Washing When the cyanide process was first introduced its application was confined to leaching, that is, treatment by percolation. By this method only such material could be worked as was sufficiently granular in texture to allow the necessary amount of solution to percolate

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Free Cyanide vs Total Cyanide Determination

Table of ContentsCyanide Titration with Silver NitrateFree Cyanide DeterminationDetermination of Free Cyanide Method No. 1Free Cyanide Determination Method No. 2Analytical Determination Method of Free Cyanide No. 3Total Cyanide DeterminationHydrocyanic Acid DeterminationEstimation of Other cyanide Compounds It is obviously of the highest importance in controlling the action of a solution to find out what strength of cyanide and alkali it contains

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Method to Measure Lime Content in Cyanide Leach Solution

Table of ContentsClennell’s Method for Protective AlkaliGreen’s Method for Protective AlkaliHow to Measure the Available Alkalinity of Lime This term is usually defined as “the alkaline hydrates and half the monocarbonates” whose action is to protect the cyanide from decomposition, by acids developed in the ore and by atmospheric carbon dioxide. Either oxalic acid or a mineral acid may be used

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Assay Method of Zinc in Cyanide Leach Solution

To ascertain the presence of zinc add a few drops of sodium sulphide solution to 50 cc of the solution to be tested (which should be strongly alkaline), and heat to boiling point. If zinc is present it will come down as a flocculent white precipitate. It sometimes happens that a cyanide solution will contain an appreciable quantity of alumina,

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Measure Copper Content of Cyanide Leach Solution

Table of ContentsThe Cyanide Measurement Method for CopperColorimetric Estimation of CopperMethod of Procedure To assay for copper contained in a cyanide solution, the first essential step of the method is to completely decompose all the cyanogen compounds. For this purpose Clennell recommends evaporating 100 cc of the solution to be tested with 5 cc of nitric and 10 cc of

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Thiocyanide Thiocyanate Sulphocyanate Assay Determination

Table of ContentsSulphocyanate/Thiocyanide/Thiocyanate Assay ProcedurePotassium Sulphocyanate Method for Estimating the IronReduction Method for Estimating the IronFerrocyanide Determination Method The method usually given for detection of Sulphocyanate (Thiocyanide, Thiocyanate) is to acidify and add a ferric salt, a blood-red color indicating the presence of KCNS. Silver and copper, however, interfere, and if present in sufficient amount may entirely prevent the formation

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Cyanate Determination Method

Clennell gives among other cyanate assay methods the following based on the fact that when KCNO is treated with an acid it does not decompose into HCN but reacts in the sense of the equation, KCNO + 2HCl + H2O = KCl + NH4Cl + CO2 By determining the amount of ammonium compound formed a measure of the cyanate originally present

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Determination of Ammonia and Ammonium Salts

Table of ContentsEstimation of Formates in Leach SolutionProcedure for Ammonia and Ammonium Salts Analysis The following method is given by Clennell to determine the Ammonia and Ammonium Salts content by assaying cyanide leach solutions. “Add excess of AgNO3, i.e., sufficient to precipitate all cyanogen compounds, then a little NaCl to remove excess of AgNO3, filter, wash, evaporate filtrate on a water bath to

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Volhard’s Silver Determination & Argentometry

Table of ContentsFerric IndicatorDecinormal Ammonium or Potassium SulphocyanateMethod of Argentometry Procedure Volhard’s method is a type of Argentometric titration of silver content determination. The Volhard Method requires: a decinormal ammonium or potassium sulphocyanate solution, a decinormal silver nitrate solution, ferric indicator. A decinormal silver nitrate solution contains 16.988 grams of AgNO3 per litre, or 10.788 grams of Ag. It may be made up

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Determination of Acetates

Julian and Smart state that cyanide solutions undergoing decomposition form not only formates but acetates. Clennell states that he has never found acetates present in a working cyanide solution unless lead acetate was being used, but on the assumption that acetates may perhaps be formed in certain circumstances he suggests the following equation. 4KCN + 5H2O = CH3CO2K + 2KCNO +

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Determination Method to Assay for Soluble Sulphides in Leach Solution

This is seldom called for, but it happens occasionally that an appreciable amount of sulphide is developed in the cyanidation of concentrate, and some sulphide is sometimes apparent in the press effluent from aluminium precipitation which it may be desirable to estimate. For such small amounts Clennell recommends the colorimetric method. For this purpose a weak standard solution of sodium

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Determine Oxygen Content in Leach Solution

Here is a way how to determine the oxygen content during gold leaching and Estimation of available Oxygen Content in Cyanide Solutions. Until recently no simple and reliable method has been known for the estimation of free oxygen in working cyanide solutions so that the one here described supplies something that has long been needed. The matter takes on an added importance

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Assay Method of Gold or Silver in Leach Solution

Table of ContentsGold & Silver Assay Method No. 1Gold & Silver Assay Method No. 2Assay Method No. 3 of Gold & Silver (Virgoe)Method to Assay for Au & Ag No. 4 (Chiddey-Magenau)Estimation of Gold in Cyanide Solution by ColorimetryColorimetric Estimation of Silver in Cyanide Solutions Gold & Silver Assay Method No. 1 Evaporate a known quantity in a square boat made of lead foil, scorify, and cupel. This is not

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Principles of Gold Cyanidation Explained

What is commonly known as the Cyanide Process has for its object the commercially profitable recovery of gold and silver from their ores, and this is accomplished by the solvent action of an alkaline cyanide solution on the precious metals. The first step in the Cyanidation process is to mill or grind the ore to a fine state of subdivision

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