A study of the biohydrometallurgical method for extracting gold from flotation tailings

Abstract

This paper shows the results of the comparative study of efficiency of gold extraction methods from technogenic flotation tails by agitation cyanidation and biooxidation followed by leaching. A representative sample of flotation tails was taken at gold extraction plant of Altyntau Kokshetau LLP. Experimentally, an increase in the efficiency of leaching gold from flotation tails during preliminary bacterial oxidation was found. By biochemical leaching, 72 % was extracted, which is 7 % more than using expensive sodium peroxide and 10 % more than using the traditional method of cyanidation.

Keywords

• gold hydrometallurgy
• flotation tails
• extraction
• bio-leaching
• research