CYANIDE RECOVERY BY TAILINGS WASHING AND POND STRIPPING

摘要

Modern gold producers are experiencing the operational dichotomy of minimizing wildlife exposure to toxic levels of cyanide in tailings and process waters, while decreasing operating costs for exploitation of lower-grade ores. The widely accepted tailings cyanide level of <50 mg/L is typically achieved by oxidation of cyanide using reagents such as SO_2/Air, H_2SO_5 or H_2O_2. Consumption rates and costs of these processes can be substantial; moreover, destruction of the reagent that is the single largest operating cost centre for the process plant represents an additional economic downside.