Estudio comparativo de Lixiviación de Oro en ensayos a escala laboratorio bajo diferentes escenarios de concentración de Gold Dressing Agent (Gda) y cianuro de sodio realizado en el Instituto de Minerales Cimex y la Escuela Superior Politécnica De Chimborazo

Abstract

The increase of metallurgical operations in the gold industry has made the use of cyanide an unsustainable extraction option in the long term due to the environmental problems. This research aimed to compare sodium cyanide (NaCN) with a new leaching agent, Gold Dressing Agent (GDA), evaluating its advantages and disadvantages as a possible substitute for traditional cyanidation. It was applied a qualitative and experimental approach; the available information on GDA was analyzed, in addition to the characterization of the samples used, leaching tests at laboratory scale and an economic study comparing the costs of both reagents. It was determined that GDA lacks precise information on its application in gold leaching and that the samples analyzed, due to their high amount of cyanide minerals, are not suitable for cyanidation. The tests showed that cyanide achieves recovery rates of up to 70% with concentrations below 2000 ppm and low reagent consumption, while GDA achieved up to 80% leaching at 5000 ppm with higher reagent consumption. In conclusion It was determined that GDA is safer to work with in leaching than cyanide, and also to being able to obtain higher gold recovery rates than cyanide by increasing the concentrations of the system despite consuming a higher proportion of the reagent. Finally, the economic comparison showed that GDA can demonstrate greater economic benefit than cyanide, in addition to its environmental and safety advantages for personnel.