Zinc and Copper Recovery from Diluted Solutions Produced after Gold Concentrate Oxidation

摘要

Gold bearing ores are frequently associated to sulphide minerals such as pyrite and arsenopyrite and in many orebodies to other base metals sulphide like copper and zinc sulphides, which accompany the gold minerals. In refractory gold ores the gold is locked inside sulphide minerals matrix and is not readily available for cyanidation process, and consequently, a first oxidation step, based for instance on pressure oxidation or other technology, is required aiming at liberating the gold particles and making them amenable for recovery through direct cyanidation. The oxidation of sulphide releases dissolved copper and zinc metals into the outlet solution. This paper describes the development of an industrial project devoted to recover efficiently zinc and copper contained in diluted solutions leaving pressure oxidation stage of a gold sulphide concentrate. The achieved results confirm that recovery of zinc and copper as valuable by-products will improve the viability of the whole project.