MineralsEngineering,Vol. 12, No. 8, pp.

863-875, 1999

Pergamon
0892-6875(99)00074--6

1999Elsevier ScienceLtd
All rights reserved
0892-6875/99/$ - see front matter

AN ACIDIC PRESSURE OXIDATION PRE-TREATMENT OF

REFRACTORY GOLD CONCENTRATES FROM THE
KWEKWE ROASTING PLANT, ZIMBABWE

F.P. GUDYANGA ~, T. MAHLANGU ~ R.J. ROMAN +,

J. MUNGOSHI* and K. MBEVE ~
Department of Metallurgical Engineering, University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe.
Email: gudya@ compcentre.uz.ac.zw
t LEACH, Inc. 4741 N. Placita del Sol, Tucson, AZ 85749, U S A
:~ Richards Bay Minerals, South Africa
Homestake Mining Services, Zimbabwe

(Received 18 October 1998; accepted 21 January 1999)

ABSTRACT
Roasting is the only commercialised process in Zimbabwe for the pre-treatment of
refractory gold feedstocks for the subsequent cyanidation leaching. This process results
in only about 75% gold recovery and is characterised by high gold values in the residue.
A pressure oxidation process in an autoclave has been evaluated as an alternative. The
process resulted in substantially higher gold recoveries (>90%) over shorter periods. The
results also show that a near quantitative silver recovery (62%) over even shorter periods
of 12 minutes is possible. The dependence of these recoveries on temperature, retention
time, pulp density, oxygen partial pressure, particle size and matrix of the sulphide host
minerals is described. The effect of jarosite formation on the silver recoveries is also
discussed. 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords
Gold ores; sulphide ores; oxidation; roasting; cyanidation

INTRODUCTION
The recovery o f precious metals from refractory ores has previously received considerable attention [1-3].
This has been as a result of dwindling resources of easily workable deposits and the complex nature of the
mineralogy of ores being encountered in which gold is locked up in various sulphidic host minerals. Gold
ores are classified as refractory when at least 80% of the gold can not be extracted by conventional
cyanidation leaching even after fine grinding. A very common cause of refractoriness is the dissemination
of fine grained or submicroscopic gold inclusions within sulphide minerals such as arsenopyrite and pyrite.
Such ores require a pre-treatment process to alter or destroy the sulphide matrix and render the gold
accessible to cyanide and oxygen.
Presented at Minerals Engineering "98,Edinburgh, Scotland, September 1998
863

864

F.P. Gudyangaet

al.

The Kwekwe Roasting Plant is currently the only plant in Zimbabwe capable of processing gold
concentrates in which the gold is contained in auriferrous pyrite, arsenopyrite and pyrrhotite. The plant was
established in 1937 to custom treat mainly flotation and table concentrates characterised by sulphide host
minerals such as pyrite, arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite, stibnite and chalcopyrite. The minimum acceptable grade
of gold is 40g/t with a maximum limit of 5% copper. The roasting and cyanidation processes can only
recover 70 to 80% of gold with high residue values of 12 to 16g/t. Over 100 000 tonnes of the concentrates
with an average grade of 70 to 80g/t of gold are treated annually to produce about l0 000 tonnes of the
refractory residue and reserves of these residues currently stand at about 200 000 tonnes[1,2]. The dump
retreatment plant which processes 40tpd of the material by cyanidation leach only manages to recover 8 to
10% of gold [2].
Conventional cyanidation of the concentrates recovers about 40% of the gold. A pre-treatment is, therefore,
necessary before the gold can be cyanide leached according to reaction (1)
4Au + 8CN- + 2HzO = 4Au(CN)2- + 4OH-

(1)

The traditional way of treating refractory gold ores and concentrates by roasting prior to cyanidation of the
calcine is gradually losing its attraction for a variety of reasons of which the most outstanding are
environmental pollution and low recoveries [3]. This paper presents results of pressure oxidation leaching
as a pre-treatment of the concentrates that form the normal feedstock for the Roasting Plant in Kwekwe.

EXPERIMENTAL
Sample preparation and analysis
The concentrate bulk sample (20kg) from the Roasting Plant was ground to 50% minus 45 microns and then
split into 500g samples for test work. The sample was also analysed for gold, iron,' arsenic, sulphur and
silver.

Diagnostic leaching
Figure 1 shows a schematic flow diagram for the diagnostic leach tests. A 500g sample was leached in
cyanide solution by agitation for 24 hours. The pulp was then filtered and the residue washed with water
prior to leaching in 20% sulphuric acid for 2 hours. The sulphuric acid leach residue was washed with
water, neutralised with lime and leached by agitation in cyanide solution for 8 hours. The latter acid leach
and cyanidation process was repeated with a nitric acid solution. Both the filtrate and residues were analysed
for gold at each stage.

Sample___~ Cyanidation
80.8 g/t [

Free &!artially
occluded gold
accessable to
cyanidation

~_~SulphuricAcid~__tdNitricAcid
[
I
[& Cyanidation[
[& Cyanidation

Gold'in labile
sulphides

Gold!pyrite
& stable sulphides

Fig. 1 Diagnostic leach scheme.

JUnextracted
"7 gold

Veery
Refractory

Pre-treatmentof refractorygold concentrates

865

Roasting and cyanidation

The roasting tests were carried out to confirm the gold recovery values obtained at the Roasting Plant.
Exactly 566.5g of the concentrate was blended with 133.5g of silica to give a blend roast charge of 700g
assaying 65.4g/t. (N.B. Dilution of sulphur content in concentrate to 18% is necessary in order to provide
a heat sink during roasting as practised at the Roasting Plant.) The sample was roasted in a muffle furnace
with constant manual rabbling and allowing a controlled amount of air into the furnace. The roasting
temperature was allowed to increase gradually to a maximum of 750C over seven (7) hours. After cooling,
the calcine obtained was weighed and pulped into an amalgam barrel from which free gold was removed
by amalgamation with mercury. The amalgam residue was leached in cyanide solution by agitation for 24
hours.

Pressure oxidation and cyanidation

Figure 2 shows a schematic flow diagram of the pressure leach tests conducted in a stirred 1-1itre acid
resistant Cr/Ni/Mo alloy steel autoclave. Each test was conducted with 200g of the concentrate and 466.7ml
of distilled water unless otherwise stated. The mixture was heated to the required temperature and then
pressurised with oxygen to the desired pressure, the reaction time being taken from that point. The
temperature control was achieved by the admission of cold compressed air into the autoclave-cooling shower
and the temperature maintained within a range of _+10C. The stirring speed was maintained constant at
800rpm in all tests. The autoclave contents were emptied and filtered. The filtered cake residue was repulped
and washed with fresh water to remove adhering residual acid and dissolved elements. The pulp was then
neutralised with lime to a pH of 11 and then filtered and dried. A known mass of the dried residue for each
test was pulped to a 3:1 liquid:solid ratio and bottle-roll leached in cyanide solution for 24 hours. The final
cyanide solutions were analysed for gold and silver, and the residue for gold, silver and sulphur.

T'

Solids losses

Sample
80.8 g/t Au

12 5 g/t Ag

Pressure

[I

Oxidation I

l~ilt~r
Wash

Cyanide soln
Analysis for

Ag
Nl~lttrili~e
Repulp

22.25% S
Acid dissolved
elements

J Cyanidation
"[ a t 3 : l . L : S
ratio
Resid~ue analysis
for Au, A g , & S

Fig.2 Pressure leach and cyanidation scheme.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Concentrate mineralogy and assay

The concentrate mineralogy is given in Table 1. This shows that the major constituents are pyrite and
arsenopyrite. Choice of pretreatment method prior to cyanidation is made primarily on the basis of whether
the method is capable of decomposing these minerals. Very few free tiny grains of gold (<50~tm) were
observed. Most of the gold was contained in the pyrite and other sulphides. The sample assay and chemical
analysis are given in Table 2.

866

F. P. Gudyangaet

al.

T A B L E 1 Concentrate mineralogy

Mineral

Composition (%)

FeS2

63

FeAsS

28

Sb2S3

CuFeS

Others

TABLE 2 Concentrate sample chemical analysis

Element

Composition (%)

Au (g/t)

80

Ag (g/t)

12.5

Fe

25.5

22.24

As

4.52

Sb

1.05

Cu

0.20

Pb

0.20

Diagnostic leach tests (Table 3) show that the concentrates are very refractory with a recovery of only
38.2% by conventional cyanidation and 60% of the refractory gold is associated with the stable sulphides
like pyrite while very little (3.2% extraction) is in the labile sulphide. Oxidation of the concentrate using
nitric acid at room temperature and atmospheric pressure recovers 20% of the gold in the stable sulphides
and the remaining 37.4% requires intensive or strong oxidising conditions. Roasting and cyanidation test
results shown in Table 4 indicate gold recovery of 75% which confirm the recoveries obtained at the
Roasting Plant. This, evidently, leaves high residue values.

Pre-treatment of refractorygold concentrates

867

T A B L E 3 Diagnostic leach tests resultsmgold deportment

Test

% Au Extracted

Cyanidation

""

Au Deportment

38.2

Free and partially occluded

Sulphuric acid &

Cyanidation

3.2

Gold in labile sulphides

Nitric acid &

Cyanidation

21.2

Gold in pyrite & stable sulphides

Unextracted gold

37.4

Very refractory

T A B L E 4 Roasting and cyanidation gold extraction results

g/t

Gold extraction in amalgam (Free)

1].6

15.0

Gold Extraction by cyanidation

46.7

60.2

Gold in Residue

19.2

24.8

Calcine Head Value

77.5

100.0

T h e r m o d y n a m i c considerations

Tables 2 and 3 show that both iron and sulphur are present in sufficiently substantial proportions such that
their physico--chemical involvement in the overall extraction process are significant. The thermodynamic
relationships involving pyrite in aqueous environment are conveniently illustrated by the E h - pH diagram
(Figure 3) [4] constructed for the Fe-S-H20 system at 298K, using the most recently published critically
assessed thermodynamic data [5]. The diagram shows that oxidising conditions are required to dissolve
pyrite. Although the Figure shows conditions for low temperature (298K) it has been proved that there is
no great change in the shape of the diagram at higher temperatures for the Fe-S-H20 system with other
conditions being the same [6]. At pH < 2 pyrite is oxidised to soluble iron and sulphur species at potentials
between 0.19 and 0.25V vs S.H.E.
FeS 2 + 8H20 = Fe 2 + 2HSO 4- + 14H + 4e
E/V = 0.124 + 0.0041og([Fe2]) + 0.0081og([HSO4-]) -0.0591pH

(2)

The supporting cathodic reactions are the reduction of oxygen to water (3) and ferric to ferrous ions (4)
02 + 4H + 4e = 2H20
E/V = 1.23 - 0.118pH

(3)

Fe 3+ + e = Fe 2+
E/V = 0.77 + 0.05911og([Fe3]/[Fe2*l)

(4)

868

F.P. Gudyanga et al.

The stability relationships depict that FeS 2 can be oxidised to produce elemental sulphur and Fe 2 ions.

(5)

FeS 2 = Fe 2+ + 2S + 2e

It is therefore possible for sulphur to co-exist with pyrite or Fe 2. This co-existence is, however, negligible
for more concentrated solutions [6]. Acid ferric sulphate solutions provide a powerful oxidising lixivant
because they have relatively high oxidation potentials associated with them. Thus, when oxygen is available,
ferric ions, along with sulphuric acid, can actually be generated in situ as a consequence of pyrite oxidation
itself. The cathodic reduction of oxygen, reaction (3), also supports the oxidation of ferrous ions (4). From
the above it would seem that both reactions (2) and (5) occur simultaneously, with reaction (2)
predominating for the oxidising conditions.

2.0

1.0

] - " "" "'- -...~

FeZ*

FeOOH

....

Eh 0

-1.0
[Fe] = 1 0 4 H
[S]
2.0
0

Fe

Fe{OH)~2.~'
= IO-L'H
I
4.0

I
8.0
pH

I
12.0

16-0

Fig.3 . Potential - pH diagram for the F e - S - H 2 0 system at 298K, with metal ion activity of 10 -6 and total
sulphur activity of 10-1 [4].

Pressure oxidation leaching

The mineralogical examinations on the residue carried out after acidic pressure leach showed that extensive
disruption of the sulphidic minerals had taken place, as sulphides were replaced by oxides (mostly hematite).
The resultant structures were observed to be porous allowing both cyanide and dissolved oxygen to gain
access to previously locked gold resulting in high gold dissolution.

Sulphur oxidation
The results of pressure oxidation and cyanidation tests [7] are given in Figures 4 to 8. These results show
that the recovery of gold after pressure oxidation is proportional to the sulphur oxidised, suggesting the

Pre-treatment of refractorygold concentrates

869

amenability of pyritic sulphur to oxidation. Although the oxidation of metal sulphides would generally result
in the formation of elemental sulphur which progressively form a thick protective layer;
MS=M 2+S +2e

(6)

virtually all the sulphur in pyrite, present as $22- entities, is converted to sulphate [8].
2FeS2 + 702 +2H20 = 2FeSO4 + 2H2SO4

(7)

Similar respective mechanisms are probably involved in the high temperature oxidation of arsenopyrite and
pyrrhotite
4FeAsS + 1302 + 6H20 = 4H3AsO 4 + 4FeSO4

(8)

2FeTS s + 3102 + 2H20 = 14FeSO4 + 2H2SO4

(9)

The divalent iron and any trivalent arsenic can further to be oxidised to their respective ferric and arsenates
states
4FeSO 4 + 2H2SO 4 + 02 = 3Fe2(SO4) 3 + 2H20

(10)

Fe2(SO4) 3 + 2H3AsO 4 = 2FeAsO4 + 3H2SO *

(11)

Effect of retention time on recoveries

Figure 4 shows that high gold recoveries (>90%) were achieved within three hours at relatively low
temperatures (180-190C). Only marginal improvement in recovery could be obtained beyond this period.
Increasing the retention time to over 3 hours at this temperature was found to be as effective as operating
at high temperatures (Figure 5) for shorter periods.

100
80
60
4o

%Au

2O

Fig.4

Time/hrs

Effect of retention time on gold and silver recoveries; Temperature 180-190C, pO 2 = 15bar, Pulp
density = 30% solids, Particle size = 50% <451am.

Effect of temperature on recoveries

The most significant parameter with regard to gold recovery was found to be temperature as shown in
Figure 5. Although very high gold recoveries were obtained at temperatures over 200C, there are, however,
important design, economic and operating considerations that limit practical operating temperatures to below
200C. Under mildly oxidising conditions (100 - 160C) and in the presence of relatively large amounts

F.P. Gudyanga et al.

870

of sulphuric acid and ferric sulphate, elemental sulphur may be formed as the preferred or intermediate
product of the oxidation of arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite and base metal sulphides.
4 F e A s S + 702 + 4H2SO4 + 2H20 = 4H3AsO 4 + 4 F e S O 4 + 4S"
(12)
2FeAsS

7Fe2(504) 3 +

8H20

16FeSO4 + 2H2AsO 4 + 5H2504 + 2S

(13)

2Fe7Ss + 14H2SO 4 + 702 = 14FeSO4 + 16S + 14H20

(14)

Fe7S8 + 7Fe2(SO4) 3 = 21FeSO 4 + 8S

(15)

2MS + 2H2SO 4 + 02 = 2MSO 4 + 2S" + 2H20

(16)

MS + Fez(SO4) 3 = M S O 4 + 2FeSO 4 + S"

(17)

100
90
80

70

~ k - %S oxia~
%Ag Rec
%Au Rec

60
50
40
30
20
10

0
100

150

200

250

300

TemperaturePC
Fig.5

Effect of temperature on gold and silver recoveries; Time = 1.5hrs, pO 2 = 15bar, Pulp density =
30% solids, Particle size = 50% <45~ma.

In the few instances when elemental sulphur has been identified as an oxidation product of pyrite the
following reactions are involved
FeS 2 + 2 0 2 = F e S O

4+S

FeS 2 + Fe2(SO4) 3 = 3FeSO 4 + S

(18)
(19)

This seems to explain the very low gold recovery observed at low temperature in Figure 5. Molten sulphur
at temperatures below 120C is an effective collector of various sulphides and is able to collect gold [9].
Elemental sulphur is undesirable for a number of reasons, including occlusion o f unreacted sulphides, which
prevents complete oxidation; occlusion o f gold particles, which hinders extraction, increased cyanide and
oxygen consumption. Oxidation of the sulphides is, therefore, conducted at temperatures in excess of 160C
and preferably higher than 175C, to promote complete oxidation of the sulphides to sulphates and to
oxidise any elemental sulphur formed as an intermediate product.
2S" + 3 0 z + 2H20 = 2H2SO 4

(20)

Effect of oxygen partial pressure recoveries

Although the effects o f oxygen partial pressure (Figure 6) was not as pronounced as that o f retention time
at the temperature (180 - 190C), results show an approximately linear relationship between recovery and
oxygen partial pressure. This is consistent with the first order oxidation rate of pyrite with respect to oxygen

Pre-treatment of refractory gold concentrates

871

partial pressure established by Mckay and Halpem [ 10]. The apparent insensitivity of Au recovery to oxygen
partial pressure at temperatures above 100C may be due to decreased oxygen solubility at high
temperatures.

100
90
8O

6O
50

I
~_

30
20
10

!
i

i
i

%S oxid.
%Ag Rec
%Au Rec
tu

4.5

9.5

14.5

19.5

24.5

29.5

Oxygen partial pressure/Bars

Fig.6

Effect of oxygen partial pressure on gold and silver recoveries; Time = 1.5hrs, Temperature =
180-190C, Pulp density = 30% solids, Particle size = 50% <451arn.

Effect of pulp density recoveries

The effect of pulp density can be seen in Figure 7. At high pulp density, elemental sulphur is effectively
suspended and dispersed such that with adequate retention time, it is oxidised completely according to
reaction (20).

100

..................................................................................................

80
60

%S oxid.
- l - %A~ Rec
& /~luRec

40
Ill
I

20

l
I
I

15

25

35

45

55

Pulp density (% solids)

Fig.7

Effect of pulp density on gold and silver recoveries; Time = 1.5hrs, pO 2 = 15bar, Temperature =
180-190C, Particle size = 50% <451am.

F.P. Gudyangaet al.

872
Effect of particle size recoveries

The effect of increasing particle surface area by increased grind is shown to effectively increase the reaction
rates as greater gold recoveries are attained in shorter times (Figure 8). This can be an economic factor
which depends on costs of regrinding against the greater gold recoveries attained.

100
90
80
70
60
%S oxid.

' - I - %Ag Rec

!!

4O
2O
10
0

J
I

45

Fig.8

55

65
75
Grind- % Passing 451tm

85

95

Effect of particle size on gold and silver recoveries; Time = 1.5hrs, pO2 = 15, Pulp density = 30%
solids, Temperature = 180-190C.

Silver recoveries

Figures 4 to 8 show that silver recoveries were greatly reduced as sulphur oxidation increased compared
to those of gold which were proportional to sulphur oxidation. This type of behaviour has been commonly
observed on acid pressure oxidation systems involving the precipitation of iron with silver being precipitated
as an argentojarosite [11] or forming solid solutions with other jarosites. Jarosites are a family of
compounds MFe(SOn)2(OH)6 where M can be H3O, Na +, K +, Rb , Ag , Ti , NH4+,I/2Pb > or Hg and where
extensive substitution can occur for Fe 3+, SO42- and to a lesser extent for OH-. The factors that influence
the formation of these compounds include temperature, pH, alkali concentration, iron concentration,
hydronium substitution and seeding of the jarosite [12].
The increase in silver extractability with increasing temperature above 200C (Figure 5) has been explained
by the favoured precipitation of iron as hematite or basic ferric sulphate
Fe2(SO4) 3 + 3H20 = Fe203 + 3H2SO4

(21)

Fe2(SO4) 3 -I- 2H20 = 2Fe(OH)SO 4 + H 2 S O 4

(22)

rather than jarosite [12].

3Fe2(SO4) 3 + 14H20 = 2(H30)Fe3(SO4)2(OH)6

+ 5H2SO4

(23)

The results thus so far discussed suggest that substantially higher recoveries of silver would be possible at
short retention times (Figure 4), lower temperatures (Figure 5) and lower pulp densities (Figure 7). This was
confirmed by an additional set [13] of results given in Figure 9 over relatively short leaching periods (<30
min.). The recoveries are inevitably low initially due to the time required to decompose the sulphidic host
minerals. However, silver recovery values rise rapidly to a peak of 62% at 12 minutes retention time after
which they fall due to the formation of jarosite [11], rendering silver refractory again. The gold recovery
increases with time indicating non-involvement in jarosite formation.

Pre-treatment of refractory gold concentrates

873

For increased silver recoveries, an effective enhancement treatment has been developed for liberating the
silver rendered refractory by the pressure oxidation process [14]. The treatment involves atmospheric
'conditioning' of the oxidised pulp with lime at 80 to 95C to convert sulphate containing iron hydroxides
and gypsum prior to cyanidation.

100

90
80

70
--

60
50
40
30
20

["4-

%S oxid.

Rec

10
0

--

10

20

30

40

Reaction time/mins

Fig.9

Gold and silver recoveries at short retention times; Temperature 190C, pO 2 = 15bar, Pulp density
= 30% solids, Particle size = 50% <45prn.

Figure 10 is a plot of recovery as a function of temperature for the leaching tests carried out at short
retention times. The plot shows that silver recovery is maximum at a temperature of 85C. At temperatures
above 85C, jarosite formation becomes relatively rapid, a trend which is consistent with Figure 4 and in
agreement with earlier findings of Babcon [15] and Dutrizac [16] who demonstrated that the domain of
jarosite stability (formation) shifts away from the origin of a temperature-pH plot (Figure 11).

100
90
80

7O

% S oxia~

6o

%Ag Rec

so

%Au Rec

3O
20

10
0
60

70

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

TemperaturePC

Fig.10

Gold and silver recoveries at low temperatures; Retention time = 1.5hrs, pO 2 = 15bar, Pulp density
= 30% solids, Particle size = 50% <45~rn.

F.P. Gudyangaet al.

874

180

,60 r

f.,o,

.o.o.

::F %___
0

Fig. 11

7
pH

9 10 11 12 13 1~

Stability field for potassium jarosite formation (hatched area) as a function of pH and temperature
for jarosite formation from 0.5M Fe2(SO4)3 solutions at 20 - 200C [15].

CONCLUSIONS
For the Roasting Plant at Kwekwe, Zimbabwe, pressure leaching of the refractory sulphides for gold
recovery is technically feasible. A greater proportion of gold in the concentrates from the Roasting Plant
was fine grained in nature and included in pyrite and to a lesser extent in arsenopyrite. Most of the gold
(60%) is associated with pyrite, which is the least of all the sulphides present to oxidise. Complete oxidation
of the sulphides is necessary for total gold liberation. This has been achieved with intensive operating
conditions (temperature over 180C, partial pressure of oxygen of over 15 bars and retention time of over
2 hours). Pressure oxidation pretreatment of the concentrates prior to cyanidation gave high gold recoveries
(over 90%) but reduced silver recoveries. Recoveries have been shown to be very much dependent on the
temperature of reaction, retention time, percent solids, partial pressure of oxygen and particle size. Near
quantitative recoveries of silver are possible at short retention times (62% in 12 minutes), low pulp density
(25 - 30% solids) and low temperatures (85 - 995C).

REFERENCES
1."

2.

3.

4.
5.
6.
7.

Kadenhe, R.M. and Makande, E.S., 1987. Review of the roasting plant operations and services
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Makande, E.S., 1988. Roasting and cyanide treatment of arsenical and antimonical gold
concentrates and calcine residues at Roasting Plant, Kwekwe, Zimbabwe, in Perth International
Gold Conference, RANDOL.
Haines, A.K., 1986. Factors influencing the choice of technology for the recovery of gold from
refractory arsenical ores, Gold 100
Marsden, J. and House, I., 1992. The Chemistry of Gold Extraction, Ellis Horwood, London.
Heuser, K.E. and Lorenz, W.J., in Bard, A.J., Parsons, R. and Jordan (Eds), 1985. Standard
Potentials in Aqueous Solutions, Marcel Dekker, New York, pp 391.
Ferreira, R.C.H., 1979. High-Temperature Eh-pH diagrams for the systems S-H20, Cu-S-H20 and
Fe-S-H20, PhD Thesis, Imperial College, University of London.
Mungoshi, J., 1989. The acidic pressure oxidation pretreatment of refractory gold concentrates from
Kwekwe Roasting Plant, BSc. Eng. (Hons) Project Report, Department of Metallurgy, University
of Zimbabwe.

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15.

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Han, K.N., et al., 1987. Gold leaching from refractory ores--Literature survey. Mineral Processing
and Extractive Metallurgy Review, 2 (1987), pp 235-253.
McKay, D.R. and Halpern, J., 1985. A Kinetic study of the oxidation of pyrite in aqueous
suspension, Met. Trans., 212 (1985) pp 301-309.
Zunkel, A.D. et al., 1982. Oxidative acid pressure leaching of sulphide ores and concentrates - The
control of silver losses, in Complex Sulphides, AIME, pp 141.
Dutrizac, J.E., 1982. Jarosite-type compounds and their application in the Metallurgical Industry,
in Hydrometallurgical Research and Development Plant Practice, Osse Osare, Ed., AIME,
pp531-551.
Mbeve, K., 1990. Improving the recovery of silver in the pressure oxidation leach process for
refractory gold ores, BSc Eng. (Hons) Project Report, Department of Metallurgy, University of
Zimbabwe.
Berezowsky, R.M.G.S. and Weir, D.R., 1989. Recovery of silver from a residue essentially free
of elemental sulphur, USA Patent 4, 632, 701.
Babcon, J., 1971. Synthesis of jarosite, KFe3(SOn)2(OH)6.Geol. Zb., 22(2) pp299-304.

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