Minerals Engineering, Vol. 4, Nos 7-11, pp. 1043-1055, 1991 0892-6875/91 $3.

00 + 000
Printed in Great Britain © 1991 Pergamon Press plc

TREATMENT OF CARBONACEOUS REFRACTORY GOLD ORES

P.M. AFENYA

Dept. of Mining Engineering, U n i v e r s i t y o f T e c h n o l o g y , Lae, Papua New Guinea

ABSTRACT

Gold ores can be categorized into two types - free milling and refractory. Free
milling ores are those easy to process by simple gravity techniques or direct
cyanidation. Refractory ores, on the other hand, are difficult to treat and
require pre-cyanidation processes to liberate the gold. Underlying the difficulty
o f processing refractory gold ores is their mineralogy. This type o f ore may
have, (1) gold in intimate association with and locked in sulphide minerals, (2)
gold associated with carbonaceous matter capable o f adsorbing aurocyanide
and (3) gold in solid solution with other minerals.

This paper reviews the mineralogy o f carbonaceous gold ores, the characteristics
of carbonaceous matter associated with gold ores and the mechanism o f
aurocyanide adsorption by carbonaceous matter and activated carbon. In
addition the paper describes the various pre-cyanidation treatment methods for
carbonaceous refractory gold ores namely, (1) flotation and depression, (2)
blanking, (3) the use of activated carbon or resin in leach, (4) roasting, (5)
chemical oxidation and (6) bioleaching.

Keywords
Carbonaceous refractory gold ores; mineralogy; aurocyanide adsorption;
roasting; chemical oxidation; bioleaching

INTRODUCTION

Gold ores can be categorized into two types - free milling (non-refractory) and refractory.
Free milling ores are easy to treat. Gold in such ores is recovered by gravity separating
techniques or direct cyanidation. Refractory gold ores, on the contrary, are difficult to treat
and require pre-treatment prior to cyanidation. The refractoriness of gold is a consequence
of ore mineralogy. Refractory gold ores have the following characteristics: (1) gold in
intimate association with and locked in sulphide minerals and siliceous gangue, (2) gold
associated with active carbonaceous matter and (3) gold in solid-solution with other
minerals. The first two of these types of refractory ore are of common occurrence. The
current discussion will be focused on carbonaceous refractory ores.

The deleterious effect of carbonaceous matter in gold ores on cyanidation has been
recognized by the mining industry for many years. Prominent among the U.S.A.
carbonaceous refractory gold deposits are those of Carlin Mines, Gold Quarry and Maggie
Creek (in the Carlin Trend, Nevada), and Gold Acres and Getchell Mine (in the Cortez
Trend, Nevada) and Jerritt Canyon [ 1]. The Canadian examples are Mclntyre Porcupine and
Kerr Anderson Mines [2]. Other examples are the Ashanti and Prestea Goldfields in Ghana
and Bakyrchik and Natalkinsk Mines of the Soviet Union [3].
1043
1044 P.M. AFENYA

Poor gold extraction by cyanide from these ores is attributed to "preg robbing" characteristic
of carbonaceous matter, gold locked in sulphide minerals and siliceous gangue. The active
carbonaceous matter present has the ability of adsorbing dissolved gold from cyanide
solutions and so rendering the leach liquor barren. As a result, mining of refractory
carbonaceous ores in the past was carefully controlled to avoid the carbonaceous matter
entering the ores sent for processing. Because of the availability of considerable reserves of
refractory carbonaceous gold ores in many parts of the world, there is the need for better
understanding of their mineralogy if these ores are to be successfully treated.

MINERALOGY

The mineralogy of carbonaceous gold ores is varied. This is because carbonaceous gold ores
are a composite of minerals in the host rocks, the carbonaceous matter and the
mineralisation media. The carbonaceous matter in most of these ores consists of active
elemental carbon and organic components consisting of long chain hydrocarbons and organic
acids similar to humic acids. In most deposits the mineralised veins intrude into and follow
the zones where the carbonaceous matter occurs in the country rocks. Gold in most
carbonaceous ores is associated with sulphide minerals, carbonaceous matter and siliceous
minerals. The amount of gold in any type of these mineral groups varies considerably.
Sulphide minerals seem to host the greatest proportion of the gold in this type of ore. It is
perhaps only in the Jerritt Canyon deposit that most of the gold seems to be associated with
the carbonaceous matter [4]. Where refractory gold is locked within impermeable siliceous
gangue, direct cyanidation is unsuccessful in recovering it. Gold locked in sulphides, and
siliceous minerals or in carbonaceous matter is normally very fine. In some deposits, for
example the Carlin mine, the gold also occurs in the form of organic complexes [2]. The
summary of mineralogy of some of the carbonaceous refractory gold deposits is presented
in Table 1 [2,4-7]. The mineralogy of some of these ores is discussed below.

Hausen [1] reported that gold in the Gold Quarry refractory ores is found in an
impermeable matrix of chert, chalcedony, microcrystalline quartz and opaline silica and was
expected to exist in submicroscopic sizes in framboidal pyrite similar to that of Carlin. (He
did not report whether there was any gold in the carbonaceous matter). In the case of Jerritt
Canyon ore, it is believed that most of the gold occurs in the carbonaceous matter in
submicroscopic sizes. In this same ore, it is probable that some of the gold may also occur
in pyrite.

A substantial proportion of the gold in Getchell mine and Gold Acres is found in pyrite. At
Getchell mine pyrite concentrates commonly run about 15g Au/tonne [2].

The Mclntyre Porcupine gold of Canada occurs in igneous intrusions of granitic to dioritic
compositions and hosted by Keewatin sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks. The gold is
found in sulphide minerals including pyrite, pyrrhotite, sphalerite and gangue minerals
namely quartz, ankerite, chlorite and carbonaceous matter. Mining in some areas of the
mine was suspended on account of the high level of carbonaceous matter [7].

The Ghanaian carbonaceous gold ores are mined by Ashanti and Prestea Goldfields. Of
these two mines more mineralogical work has been done in recent years on the Prestea gold
ore. The present Prestea ore grade varies between 3 and 6g Au/tonne. About 50-60% of the
gold occurs in quartz and the remaining is associated with sulphides and carbonaceous
matter. Pyrite and arsenopyrite form the bulk of the sulphide minerals, but sphalerite,
chalcopyrite and bournonite also carry gold [8]. Only a small amount of the gold is found
in the carbonaceous matter. Most of the gold in quartz is found in fractured quartz, leaving
the glassy and unfractured quartz barren. The refractory gold is found in submicroscopic
sizes in the sulphides and quartz.
 TABLE 1 Mineralogy of some important carbonaceous gold ores

Ore Type: Carlin Ore GoLd Quarry Jerritt Canyon McLaughlin Mclntyre Porcupine Prestea
Mine
Ref: GuayE2] Rota & Ekburg[5] Birak & Deter[4] Kunter et al.[6] NiceE73 Afenya[8]
0

%Wt %WT ZWT 0

Minerals: Dolomite 39 Calcite Dolomite Pyrite Sericite qu~ r ~ z . 60K

Calcite 14 Dolomite Calcite Marcasite Ankerite Calcite
Quartz 36 Clay Minerals Sericite Pyrargyrite Quartz Dolomite 0
Illite 8 Quartz Quartz Miargyrite Chlorite Ankerite
Kaolin 13 Chert Carbon 0.7-22 Cha{copyrite Pyrite Sericite 0
Carbon 1 Carbon 0.2-1% Pyrite 2-4% Sphalerite Chalcopyrite Arsenopyrite
Pyrite Pyrite 1.5-2% 0
G~lena Carbon Pyrite
Carb~-asph~lt Sulphosalts
Carbon 4-5%
Gold Size: Submicroscopic Submicroscopic Submicroscopic Gold l o c k e d in Submicroscopic Submicroscopic
Gold in carDona- Gold in chert Gold associated Sulphides. Gold in pyrite Gold in Sulphides
ceous aatte~ and Pyrite. with carbonaceous and quartz. and quartz.
pyrite, iltite matter.
1~6 P.M,A~NTA

NATURE OF THE CARBONACEOUS MATTER

Although the "preg robbing" property of carbonaceous matter in gold ores has been known
since the beginning of this century, it is only in the last two decades that attention has been
focused on its nature. The term "carbonaceous" has been used loosely. In some mines the
term "graphitic schist" has been used; in others "carbonaceous shale or black / carbonaceous
slate" is used. Recent work on the carbonaceous gold deposits in the Carlin and Cortez
trends [2] and Prestea Goldfields, Ghana [3,8] have thrown further light on the nature of
carbonaceous matter in gold ores.

Several workers [2,3,8] have shown that carbonaceous matter, as stated earlier, comprises
two main components - the organic component and elemental carbon. The organic
component consists of (1) long chain (heavy) hydrocarbons which do not interact with
aurocyanide, and (2) organic acids similar to humic acids capable of forming complexes
with aurocyanide. The organic portion contains C, H, O, N and S, and the elemental carbon
is predominantly C but may have impurities such as S, Ti and A1 [3]. The structures of the
organic components are unknown. The little information that is available on the organic
components is based on infra-red data. In some ores the organic fraction contains C, H, O,
N and S [2] while in others N is absent [3]. Although chemical analysis showed the presence
of N and S in some of the organic fractions, infra-red spectroscopy could not confirm the
presence of their functional groups. Infra-red has so far confirmed the presence of only
CH 3, CH 2, CffiC, CfO, -COOH groups and Si-O (an impurity). In the Prestea ore the
chemical analysis of the organic fraction gave the following results: 66.86% C, 18.15% S,
10.45% H and 1.65% O. Further work into the structural composition of the organic
components would be desirable.

Information available about the structure of the elemental carbon indicates that it could
have the following structures: amorphous, pseudo-graphitic or well developed graphite
structure. It is possible that the native carbon may have a combination of amorphous and
graphitic structures in the same carbonaceous ore deposit. The maturation trend of organic
matter reported by Vassiliou [9] points to this possibility. Microscopic examination of thin
sections of Prestea carbon and XRD data for the carbon strongly indicated that there are
amorphous and graphitic carbons in the ore. The x-ray diffraction characteristic peaks for
this carbon are shown in Table 2. The results show that the predominant peaks correspond
to the basal planes of (002), (004) and (006).

TABLE 2. X-ray diffraction data for crystalline carbon of Prestea Goldfields'

carbonaceous matter (Afenya [8]).

I/I o Co-K~ radiation, d~ (hkl)

I00 3.35 002

4 2.13 I00
12 2.03 i01
42 1.678 004
4 1.120 006

The native carbon in carbonaceous matter is normally very fine. In the Mclntyre Porcupine
mine, the carbon is said to be as fine as 0.002~m to 0.005#m and has a distorted graphite
structure [7]. The carbon in the Prestea ore is finer than 2/~m [8].

ADSORPTION OF GOLD FROM CYANIDE SOLUTION

When a refractory carbonaceous gold ore is cyanided the aurocyanide produced is readily
adsorbed by the carbonaceous matter and the solution robbed of its gold. It is the effort to
understand this "preg robbing" property of carbonaceous matter that led to the development
of activated carbon now being used in gold solution concentration. Despite this, the
 Carbonaceous refractory gold ores 1047

adsorption studies of carbonaceous matter has received little attention. Only a few
investigators have attempted to study the mechanism of aurocyanide adsorption on
carbonaceous matter. Some of these studies [3,10,11] indicate that the interaction between
the organic component of the carbonaceous matter and aurocyanide at the pH for normal
cyanidation is chemical in nature. Not much work has yet been done on the type of
interaction between aurocyanide and the elemental carbon residue left after the organic
component had been extracted from its surface. The work of Abotsi and Osseo-Asare [12]
suggested that there would be a decrease in the adsorption capacity of carbonaceous matter
when the organic component was extracted from the carbon surface with benzene. The work
of the same workers also suggested the possibility of the active carbon in the carbonaceous
matter behaving similar to activated carbon.

There is as yet no agreement among workers on the detailed mechanism of aurocyanide

adsorption on activated carbon. Various mechanisms which include chemical adsorption, a
neutral molecule, Mn+(Au(CN)2")n adsorption and electrostatic interaction with the surface
of activated carbon [ 13-15] have been proposed. Many workers, however, agree that metallic
gold as such is not formed when aurocyanide interacts with activated carbon.

When considering the adsorption of species on activated carbon, it may be useful to note
that activated carbon has different surface characteristics. It has the following surface sites:
(1) hydrophobic sites confined to the basal planes, which may be broken at various places
and functional groups introduced, and (2) hydrophilic sites found at the edges of the basal
planes. Some of these hydrophilic sites would have functional groups or none. The sites
without functional groups would have positive and negative charges.

The nature of aurocyanide adsorption on activated carbon surface would therefore be

determined by the type of available site. It is expected that adsorption of species on the
basal plane would be physical in nature and occur by hydrophobic association. Adsorption
of aurocyanide ion by activated carbon is not likely to occur by this mechanism unless the
gold cyanide complex is a neutral molecule, Mn*(Au(CN)2")n. Another type of physical
adsorption that can arise would come from the interaction between aurocyanide ions and the
positive sites on the carbon. This would be electrostatic in nature. Finally, it is only at the
sites having functional groups that the interaction with aurocyanide ions would lead to the
formation of definite chemical bonds. This type of bond is most probably responsible for
most of the uptake of gold from cyanide solutions. Thus the essential mode of aurocyanide-
activated carbon interaction would be chemisorption. From the results of many workers it
seems apparent that both chemical and physical interactions contribute to the adsorption of
aurocyanide on activated carbon. The contribution from each to the adsorption would be
dependent on the nature of the activated carbon and solution conditions.

Some of the functional groups believed to be formed on the surface of activated carbon
include carboxylic acid, phenolic, lactone, quinone, hydroperoxide and chromenol. These
groups provide the ion-exchange or redox properties for carbon. Aurocyanide is believed
to be adsorbed via ion-exchange with OH" at chromenol sites; Ca 2+ is believed to adsorb at
phenolic sites, while CN" is degraded by peroxide sites [16].

TREATMENT METHODS

Every carbonaceous gold ore has its peculiar problem which has to be addressed. Whenever
no economically suitable methods are available for treating a refractory ore, mining of the
ore is abandoned or the ore is processed using the simple methods capable of extracting the
easily recoverable gold, and the tailing is stockpiled for future treatment. A number of
processing methods have been developed for treating refractory carbonaceous ores. These
include flotation, blanking, use of a highly competitive material which can adsorb dissolved
gold faster than the carbonaceous matter, roasting, chemical oxidation and bacterial
leaching. The success of any of these methods, or a combination of methods, depends on the
mineralogy of the ore.
1048 P . M . AFENYA

FLOTATION AND DEPRESSION

Where small amounts of gold are associated with the carbonaceous matter in the ore, or the
gold does not exhibit natural floatability, the carbonaceous matter can be successfully
removed by flotation. Where such conditions prevail, as in the Mclntyre Porcupine mine [2],
flotation has been successfully used to discard the carbonaceous matter prior to cyanidation.
On the other hand, flotation was rejected as a method for removing the carbonaceous matter
from Carlin ores because of the high content of gold in the carbonaceous matter. Instead a
"double oxidation" process was adopted.

At Prestea and Ashanti goldfields, the carbonaceous matter was depressed with Aero 633
and starch in the respective mines while floating the sulphide minerals and free gold. The
flotation recoveries achieved varied from 85% to 90%. The American Cyanamid Company
also used a similar technique to remove carbonaceous matter from a South African
auriferous gold ore [2].

BLANKING

Certain organic reagents which selectively adsorb on the surface of activated carbon and
smother the surface have been used for blanking carbonaceous matter in gold ores prior to
cyanidation. Kerosine, fuel oil and RV-2 (para nitro bensol azo salicylic acid) [2] have been
used for this purpose. Kerr Addison mines have used this technique; in Russia the reagent
RV-2 is known to have been used. At Prestea goldfields, fuel oil has been used to blank any
carbonaceous matter that had not been completely roasted prior to cyanidation. This method
would, however, not be used where considerable amounts of refractory gold are associated
with carbonaceous matter.

ACTIVATED CARBON OR RESIN IN LEACH PULP

This process works on the principle of using a stronger aurocyanide adsorbent than the
carbonaceous matter in the ore. If a stronger adsorbent is used for an ore containing low
carbonaceous matter the technique is likely to have a chance of success. By using granulated
activated carbon as the adsorbent in a mildly refractory Carlin ore, about 70% of the gold
was recovered, as compared to 15% without using activated carbon [2]. Encouraged by this,
Newmont looked at the concept of extracting gold complex from carbonaceous matter with
hot caustic soda, and transferring it to an activated carbon added to the leach solution. When
this method was applied to a Carlin ore containing 0.8% organic carbon and 1.5% pyrite at
a grade of 10g Au/tonne, 83% recovery was achieved. Testwork on more refractory Carlin
ores was unsuccessful. Consequently they abandoned the process [2]. No further work on the
use of this technique has since been reported. The attraction of this method, however, is its
low capital and operation costs.

ROASTING

Probably the easiest method of destroying carbonaceous matter, and simultaneously

oxidising the sulphide minerals, in refractory gold ores is roasting. In many countries, this
method became the only viable means of rendering refractory ores amenable to gold
extraction for many years. Roasting readily decomposes carbonaceous matter and converts
the sulphide minerals to oxides thereby releasing the gold. The temperatures for roasting
many refractory sulphidic ores vary from 550°C to 800°C. More often the roasting
temperature used is between 600°C and 7 0 0 ~ [17].

Roasting technology has undergone many improvements over the last 60 years. Areas
improved include the scrubbing of roaster gases, and control of roaster temperatures, and
development of fluo-solid roasters.
 Carbonaceous refractory gold ores 1049

For many years roasting was the traditional method for treating refractory gold ores. Thus,
at the early stages of evaluating different processes for treating Carlin gold ores, a number
of roasting tests were carried out on the ores. The results gave gold recoveries between 85%
and 87%. Because of the relatively low recovery, stringent roasting conditions and a high
capital cost requirements, roasting as a viable process for treating Carlin ores was abandoned
[2]. Roasting has, however, been used at Prestea and Ashanti Goldfields since the early
1940's to treat the flotation concentrates containing carbonaceous matter and gold locked in
sulphide minerals. Any unroasted carbon is blanked with fuel oil prior to cyanidation. The
gold recoveries achieved ranged from 85% to 90% [8].

In the Mother Lode Mine in California [18], the ore was treated by depressing the
carbonaceous matter, while the sulphide minerals and the free gold were floated. The
carbonaceous matter was discarded as part of the flotation tailing and the concentrate was
roasted and cyanided. A coal-tar product was used to blank any carbonaceous material in
the slimes before cyanidation.

The use of roasting to treat refractory gold ores most probably saved the mining industry
from the dilemma of being unable to process refractory ores. Thus for many years, roasting
was the only reliable method of treating refractory ores to produce high ore recovery. In the
last two decades, however, there has been increasing pressure, because of pollution
constraints and high cost of power, to find alternative methods for treating refractory ores.
Attention has, therefore, been directed to chemical oxidation treatment methods.

CHEMICAL OXIDATION

Currently hydrometallurgical methods for treating refractory gold ores strongly attract
research and development activity and they may eventually replace roasting. The three
aqueous oxidation techniques being given significant attention both in research and
development are:
(1) hydrochemical oxidation, (2) autoclave leaching (pressure oxidation) and (3) bioleaching
(biochemical oxidation). These methods are applicable to sulphidic and carbonaceous ores.
In hydrochemical oxidation strong reagents, such as chlorine gas or nitric acid, are used. In
autoclave leaching, oxygen at high temperatures (180o-220oC) and pressures is used for
oxidising the ore. In bioleaching, bacteria are used to catalyse the degradation of the
minerals occluding the gold.

HYDROCHEMICAL OXIDATION
Chlorine Oxidation

In the late 1960's the U.S. Bureau of Mines demonstrated that chemical oxidation in aqueous
system could be used to destroy the deleterious effect of carbonaceous matter in gold ores.
This was followed by further investigation by Newport Exploration Company and Carlin
Mining Company. They finally selected two reagents, CI 2 and sodium hypochlorite,
generated by electrolysis in situ. For some apparent reasons C12 was selected as the oxidising
reagent for treating Carlin ore [2] ; (chlorine was, in fact, used for gold extraction in the
second half of the nineteenth century before the advent of cyanidation). Chlorine in the
present process is used as a mildly oxidising agent capable of oxidising the carbonaceous
matter and any associated pyrite and dissolving most of the free gold.

In 1980 Freeport Gold, Nevada Mining Association, decided that it would use chlorine to
treat its Jerritt Canyon ores. Initially they used only chlorine to treat the ores and achieved
gold recoveries between 83% and 90% after cyanidation. But as the ore became more
refractory and the consumption of chlorine became excessive, a double oxidation process
was introduced. In this process air and chlorine were used for oxidation. The first stage of
the oxidation was carried out with air a t a pulp temperature of 70 ° - 80oC and air pressure
of 6 - 8 psig. Any sulphurie acid produced by the oxidation of pyrite was neutralised with
soda ash. This was followed by further oxidation of the ore with chlorine [5]. By 1986 the

ME 4:7/II°AA
1050 P.M. AFENYA

double oxidation was achieving 90-93% gold recovery. But in recent years chlorine
consumption has increased enormously and has forced the company to consider alternative
processes such as roasting and autoclave treatment of the ore. Roasting has apparently been
selected as an alternative to chlorination but at Carlin a novel process called "flash"
chlorination which uses chlorine more effectively and efficiently has been adopted [19].

The success of the double oxidation process depends on the mineralogy of the ore. If a
greater proportion of the gold occurs in spheroidal pyrite, the oxidisation of the pyrite
would be fast and the locked gold readily liberated. If, however, the gold occurs in a well
crystallised type of pyrite, then the pyrite oxidation would be poor, resulting in low gold
recovery. High chlorine consumption would be caused not only by carbonaceous matter and
pyrite but also by carbonates such as calcite, dolomite and siderite normally present in this
type of ore.

NITRO and ARSENO processes

Besides chlorination two new techniques, NITRO and ARSENO processes, are being
developed for treating refractory sulphide ores. These processes can also be used for
refractory carbonaceous ores since nitric acid can oxidise carbonaceous matter and decrease
its adsorptive capacity. The NITRO process uses air at atmospheric pressure while the
ARSENO process uses pressurised oxygen.

The nitric acid reaction cycle is represented as:

FeS 2 + 5HNO 3 ----, ½Fe2(SO4)3 + ½H2SO4 + 5NO(g) + 2H20 (1)

6NO(g) + 302(g ) ----) 6NO2(g ) (2)
3NO2(~) + H20 ---) 2HNO 3 + NOtg) (3)

The NITRO process operates at atmospheric pressure, 90°(2 temperature and retention times
of 1-2 hours. It is said to improve gold extraction from 30% to 90%. About 50% of the
sulphur forms elemental S° while As reports in solution. The sulphur has to be converted
into a soluble compound prior to cyanidation [19].

In the ARSENO process, the reaction is controlled so that nitrous instead of nitric acid is
generated. The equilibria reactions are as follows:

2NO2(g ) + H20 ==--. HNO 2 +HNO 3 (4)

3HNO 2 -----) HNO 3 + 2NO(9 ) + H20 (5)
Production of HNO 2 in reaction (5) is maintained by keeping relatively high NO partial
pressure. HNO 2 produced is said to have a faster rate of reaction than HNO 3 and typical
leaching times of 15 minutes at 80°(2 with 5 atm. oxygen have been reported. The short
leaching time enables most species to remain in solution, unlike pressure oxidation where
jarosite is precipitated. The drawbacks of this process are the generation of arsenides and
elemental sulphur. For these reasons a high pressure and temperature (> 180°C) alternative
has been developed. Recent testwork using this method on concentrates gave favourable
results [19].

There is much drive for further research and development of these two processes. But to
what extent these processes can deactivate carbonaceous matter is yet to be investigated.

AUTOCLAVE LEACHING

This technique uses oxygen at high pressures and temperatures to treat refractory ores or
concentrates and oxidise the sulphide minerals carrying locked gold. The essential reactions
 Carbonaceous refractory gold ores 1051

that take place are oxidation of the gold matrix and precipitation of some leach products.
Pyrite present is converted to FeSO 4 and H2SO4. Any arsenopyrite is converted to HxAsO 4
and FeSO 4. The FeSO 4 is later oxidised by oxygen to Fe2(SO4)3. With the presence olYFe3÷,
H2SO 4 and H3AsO4, hydrolitic reactions occur and produce various precipitates depending
on the ore composition. Jarosite and elemental S° could be formed. These precipitates are
decomposed in order to improve silver and gold extraction. Refractory ore treatment by this
method normally gives gold extraction in excess of 95%.

Autoclave leaching of refractory gold ores on an industrial scale started in the 1980's
because of the high gold price and because pressure oxidation is an environmentally
accepted alternative to roasting. Since 1985 about five autoclave leaching plants have been
commissioned for treating refractory gold ores. They are those at McLaughlin mine in
California, San Bento Mineracao in Brazil, Barrick Mercur Gold Mines in Utah (start-up
early 1988), Getchell Gold Mine (start-up early 1989) and American Barrick Goldstrike in
Nevada.

Both Barrick Mercur and Getchell Gold mines treat carbonaceous ores. Unlike the other
plants, the Barrick Mercur plant oxidises the ore in an alkaline medium at about 220°(2 and
a pressure of 3230 kPa. The throughput in January 1989 was about 900 tpd for an ore grade
of about 1-2% sulphur. The gold recovery was in excess of 90%, in comparison to recoveries
of 20% to 60% for direct cyanidation [20]. "Preg robbing" was a problem, for which several
methods had been tried to find a solution. One solution was to increase the amount of
activated carbon in the circuit and revert to countercurrent use of the carbon.

Two new autoclave plants are due for commissioning within a year. They are those for
METBA's Olympias mine in northern Greece, due in the fall of 1990, and Porgera Joint
Venture in Papua New Guinea, due in October 1991.

The present indications are that the pressure oxidation process will be increasingly adopted
in the future for treating refractory ores. It will be preferred to, or perhaps replace, roasting
because of the higher power cost and environmental pollution problems associated with
roasting and comparatively higher gold recoveries achieved by pressure oxidation. The
pressure oxidation process may, however, continue to have its problems, especially in the
production of undesirable precipitates due to ore mineralogy. Research and development
will continue to advance in these areas and in mitigating the "preg robbing" capacity of
carbonaceous matter.

BIOLEACHING

Bacteria oxidation is the latest process being developed for pretreating refractory sulphide
and carbonaceous gold ores. Currently this technique is being pursued vigorously by many
organisations throughout the world. Recent tests by Hutchins et al., [21] have shown that
bioleaching can be equal to, or better than, roasting and pressure oxidation in terms of
recovery and process economics. The main disadvantage with this method is that the
reaction rate is slow and it takes days rather than hours to treat an ore. Some of the
advantages and disadvantages inherent in the use of bioleaching, autoclave leaching and
roasting techniques for pretreatment of refractory ores are presented in Table 3 [22].

The widely studied bacteria for leaching refractory gold ores are Thiobacillus [errooxidans.
These bacteria oxidise iron sulphides under acidic conditions at temperatures between 30°(]
and 40oC. The oxidation of sulphide minerals by T. ferrooxidans can be considered as (1)
direct bacteria oxidation of the sulphide mineral and (2) indirect sulphide oxidation by Fe 3÷
produced in the earlier reactions.

Direct oxidation:

2FeSO4 + 2H20 + 702"bacteria ---"~ 2FeSO4 + 2H2SO4 (1)

 TABLE 3 Factors affecting the selection of Roasting, Autoclave leaching
and Bioleaching processes (Brown [221 modified).
FACTOR ROASTING AUTOCLAVELEACHING BIOLEACHING

TEMPERATURE 550-800°C 180-220°C 30-80°C

ENERGY high medium tow

CARBON I)E~CTIVATION total partial partial

OPERATING MEDIUM fluo-solid acid or base acid

OPERATION continuous batch batch

ENVIRONNENTAL A. Atmospheric pollution A. Stability of ferric A. Stability of ferric

(arsenic, sulphur arsenate arsenate
dioxide)
A. Scrubbing effluent F. Negligible Atmospheric F. Negligible Atmospheric
pollution pollution pollution
F. Simple aqueous >
F. Simple aqueous
neutralisation neutralisation

SAFETY/HYGIENE A. High concentrations A. High pressure hazards F. Low concentrations of

Of arsenic compounds A. Oxygen hazards toxic compounds
A. High concentrations F. Low concentrations of
of sutphuric acid t ¢ i c compounds

EFFECTIVENESS F. Improved gold F. High gold recovery F. High gold recovery

recovery

TECHNOLOGY F. Commercially proven A. Limited application A. Large scale

F. SimSlar to copper. application unproven
nickel and zinc extraction A. Heap teach eY@erience
technology not good

CAPITAL COSTS A. High A. High costs of oxygen plant F. Relatively low

OPERATING COSTS F. Low A. High reagent costs A° High reagent cost

(oxygen. -lime) (lime, cyanide, air)

A=Against. F= For
 Carbonaceous refractory gold ores 1053

2FeSO 4 + H2SO 4 + ½Oz..bacteria -----* Fez(SO4)3 + H20 (2)

Overall reaction:

2FeS 2 + H20 + 7 . 5 0 2 . . b a c t e r i a - - - - , Fe2(SO4) 3 + H2SO 4 (3)

Indirect (ferric) oxidation:

FeS 2 + Fe2(SO4) 3 ----, 3FeSO 4 + 2S o (la)

2FeSO 4 + H2SO 4 + ½02 - - - , Fe2(SO4) 3 + 1.5H20 (2a)

2S o +302 +2H20 - - - , 2H2SO 4 (3a)

Provision of proper adaption conditions in the feed for these bacteria is essential for
optimum leaching performance. Adequate oxygen and carbon dioxide from the air, nitrogen
in the form of ammonium salt as nutrient, and pH 1-3 are required for the bacteria to
perform efficiently.

Other bacteria types, thermophiles having growth activity from 45°C to 55°C and from 50°C
to 80°C have been studied. The extremely thermophilic sulfolobus species which grows at
temperatures of 50°C to 80°(2 has been used to pretreat both sulphidic and carbonaceous
gold ores and recoveries in excess of 80% were achieved. During bacteria leaching of
sulphidic carbonaceous ores, the sulphides minerals are oxidised and the entrained gold is
released. The carbonaceous matter, on the other hand, is only partly oxidised and therefore
not totally rendered inactive. This may necessitate the blanking of the carbonaceous matter
before cyanidation. Hutchins et al., [21] reported that by using thermophilic sulfolobus for
treating various carbonaceous ores and blanking the carbon before cyanidation, recoveries
of 84% to 94% were achieved.

Bioleaching has been applied to heap leaching and agitation leaching but most of the
research and development is being devoted to agitation leaching employing mechanical
agitation.

Bioleaching is being used in industry. In South Africa, Gencor has been operating a 12-15
tpd plant to treat pyrite/arsenopyrite concentrate assaying about 120g Au/t, 29% S and 8%
As20 3 at its Fairview plant. The gold recovery was about 95%, as against 35% by
cyanidation and 90% by roasting [19]. The second bioleaching plant is in Zimbabwe where
about 5 tpd of concentrate assaying about 60g Au/t, 31% FeS 2 and 18% FeAsS 2 is treated.
The third bioleaching plant which will use T.ferrooxidans is currently being constructed by
U.S. Gold at Tonkin Springs in Nevada to treat its refractory ore [23].

Refractory ores containing carbonaceous matter are not entirely deactivated when
bioleached. This problem is being investigated by some researchers to find out how much
bacteria could alleviate the "preg robbing" of carbonaceous matter in gold ores. Much
research and development work into various aspects of bioleaching is currently in progress
in many parts of the world so that it will only be a matter of time before bioleaching
becomes an available technology for treating refractory ores.

CONCLUSION

In the past two decades there has been a renewed interest in the study of carbonaceous
matter associated with gold ores. The outcome of these studies is a better understanding of
the composition of carbonaceous ores and how to process them. Several treatment techniques
developed for treating them have been economically employed in three major ways - (1) the
removal of carbonaceous matter from gold ores by either flotation or depression, (2)
deactivation of carbonaceous matter by blanking, chemical or bacteria oxidation and (3)
decomposing the carbonaceous matter by roasting. Investigations into these three areas will
1054 P . M . AFENYA

certainly continue, in an attempt to find the most economic and environmentally acceptable
treatment methods. The processes that would continue to stimulate research and commercial
interests would most probably be pressure and bacteria oxidative leaching.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The financial assistance given by the Research Committee of the University of Technology,
Lae, Papua New Guinea is gratefully acknowledged.

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