Role of copper(II), carbonate and sulphite in gold leaching and thiosulphate degradation by oxygenated alkaline non-ammoniacal solutions

Senanayake, G. (2005) Role of copper(II), carbonate and sulphite in gold leaching and thiosulphate degradation by oxygenated alkaline non-ammoniacal solutions. Minerals Engineering, 18 (4). pp. 409-426.

Abstract

A concurrent thermodynamic and kinetic analysis was conducted to show that the reaction between copper(II) and thiosulfate ions takes place through the formation of an unsatable copper complex followed by its first or second order decomposition. The rate of thiosulfate oxidation by oxygen during gold leaching from copper gold ores in alkaline media was of the order ≈10 -6moll-1s-1. The presence of carbonate enhanced the overall thiosulfate consumption and trithionate and sulfate formation, leading to a lower gold extraction. The results show that in a thiosulfate deficient leach liquor gold precipitation takes place through disproportionation reactions.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Murdoch Affiliation:	Parker Cooperative Research Centre for Integrated Hydrometallurgy Solutions
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/16331

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