Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol.52, No.47, 16622-16629, 2013
Fast and Effective Gold Leaching from a Desulfurized Gold Ore Using Acidic Sodium Chlorate Solution at Low Temperature
The effects of various leaching conditions for gold extraction from sulfur-containing gold ore using acidic sodium chlorate solution were investigated. The contents of gold and sulfur from the ore were 55.7 g/ton and 11.67 wt %, respectively. It was found that the presence of sulfur greatly inhibited gold extraction. The optimal desulfurization temperature, desulfurization time, leaching temperature, leaching time, adding rate of NaClO3, HCl concentration, weight ratio of NaCl to sample, agitation speed, and ratio of liquid lixiviant volume to solid sample weight were 650 degrees C, 2 h, 40 degrees C, 45 min, 0.25 mL/min, 3 M HCl, 0.2, 250 rpm, and 10, respectively. The gold extraction percentage and the weight loss percentage of the sample were 97% and 8.8%, respectively, under these optimal conditions. Gold leaching by this method was very fast and effective, and the temperature was low. These characteristics made it possible to apply this method in continuous operation mode in industry.