Scholars' Mine
Bachelors Theses
Student Research & Creative Works
1910
Notes on the precipitation of gold from cyanide
solution
Charles Adrian Burdick
Harry Wade Connelly
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Part of the Mining Engineering Commons
Department: Mining and Nuclear Engineering
Recommended Citation
Burdick, Charles Adrian and Connelly, Harry Wade, "Notes on the precipitation of gold from cyanide solution" (1910). Bachelors
Theses. 204.
http://scholarsmine.mst.edu/bachelors_theses/204
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A
The s i s
ror the Degree
BACHE~LOR
o~
of' SOIENCF.;
IN
1:1 I
ENG I NEE R I N G.
N I N G
T
'?
r""
NOTES ON THE PRECIPITATION
OF GOLD FROM CYANIDE SOLUTION.
C. A.• Burdick.
H. W..
Connelly'.
Approved.
1910.
10914
Notes on the Precipitation of Gold
From.
Cya.."'lide Solu·t1ons.
This work was to determine the Potassium
Cyanide and tIle Zinc oonsumed in the precipitation of
Gold
rro~
cyanide solutions by zinc dust.
Writers on the zino dust method give much de-
but ami t data. on the consumption of" potaasiuJn cy-
ta.ill
anide and of zinc in tho process.
JUlian and Smart
in their book, "Oymliding of" Gold and Silver Ores",
Bay that in the treating of 15 tons or strong cyanide
solution, oarrying
6.0 oz. gold par ton
19 lb. zinc
dust were used, and for 14 tone of weak solution, 17 lb.
of zino duet were used, making 36 lb. of zino dust added for 29 tons of solution or 1.24 lb. zinc duet per
ton of solution.
They do not say whether there "'a.s
zina in the preci.pi ta. te.
The above solutions were
reduoed to 2 dwt. of gold plue silver per ton of solution.
For our work the preoipitation was in each
0&S6
made in 300 c.c. of solution.
A gold cyanide
solution was used which contained per o.e.
0.041 mgm.
of gold ( 1.197 oz. per ton o~ solution) and O.0012~ KON.
To obtain £or eaoh test the desired varying amounts of
2
gold and of potassium oyanide, a solution, with no gold,
but oontaining 7.3~ KeN was added to the above mentioned
gold solution as required.
In the first experiment the amount of zinc
duet and of
potas8i~n
cyanide was kept constant while
the gold was varied from 1.00 oz. per ton to 0.005 oz.
per ton of solution.
The Bo1ution contained O.20~ of
potassium oyanide and 0.18 lb. of zino dust was used par
ton of solution.
The zino consumed was 0.19 to 0.23 lb.
per ton of solution.
The zinc consumed inoreased
slightly with the increase of gold in the solution.
By plotting the oz. gold per ton of solution and tho
pounds of zino ooneumad we get & straight line.
curve No.
The KON consumed ranges from 0.62 to
O.AO lb. per ton of solution.
Plotting the potassium
cyanide against the gold we get a straight line.
ourve No.
See
See
The percentage gold recovered rapidly
Increased until the solution oontaining 0.30 oz. of'
gold per ton of solution was reached.
At this point
the recovery under our condition is a maximum (77.%)
From here the recovery decreaDed slightly as the solutions lncreass 1n gold.
See ourva No.
In the seoond experiment the amount of zino
and of gold in the _olution are kept constant, whila
the amount of potassium oyanide was va.ried from a 1.OO~
3
solution to a O.005~ solution.
The gold solution was
0.50 oz. gold par ton and 0 ..46 lb. of' zino duet was used
per ton
or
solution.
The gold extracted increased rap-
idly up to the O.05~ KeN solution and it remained oonstant at 78% as the solution increased in percent of
potassium oyanide.
See curve No.
The zinc oon-
sumed was fairly constant between 0.21 lb. and 0.302 lb.
per ton of solution.
See ourve
No.
The amount
of potassium cyanide consumed inoreased more
slowly
as the solution grew stronger potassium cyanide.
In experiment three the atrenght of the solution in potassium oyanide and in gold was kept constant at O.20~ and 0.50 oz. respectively.
ution varying amounts
were added.
or
To this sol-
ammoniaoal sapper hydroxide
The preoipitation in each
0&S6
was made
with 0.46 lb. of zino dust per ton of solution.
Incre-
asing the amount of oopper decreasea the amount of gold
precipitated, but there was no regUlarity
orease
o~
the gold reoover1.
in the de-
There was oonsumed
from 2.9 lb. to 3.9 lb. of potassium oyanide per ton
or
solution treated.
sumption, as might be
See ourve No.
expeoted~
increased regularly as
"tha solution was made stronger in copper.
In order to determine how high
extraotion
o~
The zino con-
See ourve No.
peroent the
gold oould be made with varying amounts
4
of gold ~d O.20~ KON solution, solutions .1milar
to
those in experiment No.1. were made and 3.0 lb. of
zino per ton of solu'tion was used in the preoipitation.
The axeaaB zino was washed onto the
ution passed thru
80 8S
~ilter
and the sol-
to bring the solution into
most intimate oontaot with the zino.
It was round that
the solutions oould thus be reduoed to 0.018 oz. per
ton of solution.
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