Carbon leaching gold process

Carbon leaching is a process used to extract gold from gold-bearing ores. In this process, activated carbon is added to the ore pulp and the mixture is agitated. The gold is adsorbed onto the surface of the carbon, which is then separated from the pulp and processed to recover the gold.

The carbon leaching process typically involves the following steps:

1. Crushing and grinding: The gold ore is crushed and ground to a fine powder.

2. Leaching: The ground ore is mixed with a cyanide solution to dissolve the gold. The gold is then adsorbed onto the surface of activated carbon.

3. Elution: The carbon is removed from the slurry and washed to remove any remaining cyanide. The gold is then stripped from the carbon using a caustic solution.

4. Electrowinning: The gold is recovered from the caustic solution by electrolysis.

5. Smelting: The gold is melted and cast into bars.

The carbon leaching process is widely used in the gold mining industry as it is a cost-effective way to recover gold from low-grade ores. However, it does have some environmental concerns, as the cyanide used in the process is toxic and must be handled and disposed of carefully. Additionally, the process can result in the production of large amounts of waste material.