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http://dx.doi.org/10.9727/jmsk.2019.32.3.185

The Effective Recovery of Gold from the Invisible Gold Concentrate Using Microwave-nitric Acid Leaching Method  

Lee, Jong-Ju (Department of Energy and Resource Engineering, Chosun University)
Myung, Eun-Ji (Department of Energy and Resource Engineering, Chosun University)
Park, Cheon-Young (Department of Energy and Resource Engineering, Chosun University)
Publication Information
Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea / v.32, no.3, 2019 , pp. 185-200 More about this Journal
Abstract
This study aimed to liberate gold from invisible gold concentrate (Au = 1,840.00 g/t) through microwave nitric acid leaching experiments. For the purpose, this study conducted microwave-nitric acid leaching experiments and examined nitric acid concentration effect, microwave leaching time effect and sample addition effect. The results of the experiments were as follows: Au (gold) contents were not detected in all of the microwave leaching conditions. In the insoluble-residue, weight loss rate tended to decrease as the nitric acid concentration, microwave leaching time and sample addition increased. In an XRD analysis with solid-residue, it was suggested that gypsum and anglesite were formed due to dissolution of calcite and galena by nitric acid solution. When a fire assay was carried out with insoluble-residue, it was discovered that gold contents of the solid-residue were 1.3 (Au = 2,464.70 g/t) and 28.8 (52,952.80 g/t) times more than those of concentrate. But in the gold contents recovered, a severe gold nugget effect appeared. It is expected that the gold nugget effect will decrease if a sampling method of concentrate is improved in the microwave-nitric acid leaching experiments and filtering paper with smaller pore size is used for leaching solution and burned filter paper is used for sampling in lead-fire assay.
Keywords
Invisible gold; microwave-nitric acid leaching; liberation; lead-fire assay; gold particle;
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