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Gold Processing Plant, Carbon In Leach (CIL)
Plant
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A Carbon In Leach Gold Recovery Plant. This plant processes 4 million
tons of ore per year with an average gold content of 0.043 ounces of
gold per ton of ore. Approximately 85% of the gold is recovered
in the plant. The crushed ore is fed to tanks of cyanide solution,
where the gold is dissolved in the cyanide. The pregnant solution
is then transferred to a series of tanks, where carbon is added.
The gold is adsorbed onto the surface of the carbon. The carbon,
with gold attached, is removed by screening. The gold bearing
carbon is then introduced into a heated sodium hydroxide-cyanide-water solution where
the gold is dissovled. This concentrated solution is passed
through a series of electrowinning cells, where the gold quickly
plates (in about 3 minutes) onto the stainless steel cathodes.
The gold is washed from the cathodes, with high pressure sprays,
dried and melted, to be poured into molds for gold
bricks, or ingots. |
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A flowsheet, showing the Carbon In Leach (CIL) process |
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A Stainless Steel Cathode from the electrowinning cell in the
gold room. Notice the gold that has plated onto the surface of
the stainless steel mesh. The next step is to wash the gold from
the cathode with a high pressure water sprayer, then melt it and
pour it into a mold where it will be in a salable form called a
dore bar. |
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