The aim of the present paper is to explain therecovery of gold by flotation as a function of the floatability ofliberated and precipitated gold and gold occluded in base metalssulphides ,pyrrhotite ,pyrite ,and arsenopyrite .In contrast withmany other studies ,the current research determines the flotationrecovery of each mineral as an integral part of the ore .A furtherfeature of this study is the fact that a significant fraction of thegold is associated with pyrrhotite ,so that flotation strategies areaimed at maximising the recovery of pyrrhotite ,which is incontrast with the practice in many similar flotationprocesses .Quantitative XRD and diagnostic leaching are used todetermine the distribution of gold between the host minerals aswell as the flotation recovery of each mineral .Optimal sulphiderecovery is attained by activation with air .The greatest recoveriesof free gold occurred when oxygen was added during xanthateconditioning . The recovery of gold bearing sulphides ,free goldand refractory gold will be discussed for each test where oxygenand nitrogen to the pulp was used.
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