Pb2+ Ion Sensors Employing Gold Etching Process: Comparative Investigation on Au Nanorods and Au Nanotriangles.

The leaching phenomenon of gold (Au) nanomaterials by Pb2+ ions in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) and thiosulfate (S2O32- ion) has been systematically applied to a Pb2+ ion sensor. To further investigate the role of Pb2+ ions in sensors containing Au nanomaterials, we revisited the leaching conditions for Au nanorods and compared them with the results for Au nanotriangles. By monitoring the etching rate, it was revealed that Pb2+ ions were important for the acceleration of the etching rate mainly driven by 2-ME and S2O32- pairs, and nanomolar detection of Pb2+ ions were shown to be promoted through this catalytic effect. Using the etchant, the overall size of the Au nanorods decreased but showed an unusual red-shift in UV-Vis spectrum indicating increase of aspect ratio. Indeed, the length of Au nanorods decreased by 9.4% with the width decreasing by 17.4% over a 30-min reaction time. On the other hand, the Au nanotriangles with both flat sides surrounded mostly by dense Au{111} planes showed ordinary blue-shift in UV-Vis spectrum as the length of one side was reduced by 21.3%. By observing the changes in the two types of Au nanomaterials, we inferred that there was facet-dependent alloy formation with lead, and this difference resulted in Au nanotriangles showing good sensitivity, but lower detection limits compared to the Au nanorods.

Cyanide and cyanidation wastes management in gold leaching plants in Siaya County, Kenya.

This study assesses cyanide and cyanidation wastes management practices among small, medium and large-scale gold leaching plants in Siaya County, Kenya. The socio-economic benefits of gold extraction through cyanidation of mercury-contaminated tailings notwithstanding, the study establishes inadequate cyanide and cyanidation wastes management practices which could potentially cause significant environmental and human health impacts. Through structured key-informant interviews with operators from 15 selected gold leaching plants of varying scales of operation, along with field observations, and quantitative analysis utilizing both bivariate and inferential statistical tools, the study reveals inadequacies in cyanide, cyanidation wastewater, and tailings management practices. Key findings highlight widespread contravention of the international cyanide management standards and lack of adoption of advanced cyanidation wastes treatment technologies. Moreover, the study examines Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal factors as external factors affecting the management of cyanidation wastes. Consequently, the study recommends adoption of comprehensive cyanide management practices as outlined in the Cyanide Code and technological upgrades to mitigate potential environmental and human health impacts, and enhance regulatory compliance in gold cyanidation. In a nutshell, this study underscores the urgent need for stringent enforcement of environmental and mining industry laws and regulations in order to protect the environment and public health in gold mining regions. These measures are vitally important to ensure responsible mining practices and uphold environmental stewardship while promoting economic growth.

Investigation on Gold-Ligand Interaction for Complexes from Gold Leaching: A DFT Study.

Gold leaching is an important process to extract gold from ore. Conventional alkaline cyanide process and alternative nontoxic lixiviants including thiosulfate, thiourea, thiocyanate, and halogen have been widely investigated. However, density functional theory (DFT) study on the gold complexes Au(CN)2-, Au(S2O3)23-, Au[SC(NH2)2]2+, Au(SCN)2-, and AuCl2- required for discovering and designing new highly efficient and environmentally friendly gold leaching reagents is lacking, which is expected to support constructive information for the discovery and designation of new high-efficiency and environmentally friendly gold leaching reagents. In this study, the structure information, electron-transferring properties, orbital interaction, and chemical bond composition for complexes Au(CN)2-, Au(S2O3)23-, Au[SC(NH2)2]2+, Au(SCN)2-, and AuCl2- depending on charge decomposition analysis (CDA), natural bond orbital (NBO), natural resonance theory (NRT), electron localization function (ELF), and energy decomposition analysis (EDA) were performed based on DFT calculation. The results indicate that there is not only σ-donation from ligand to Au+, but also electron backdonation from Au+ to ligands, which strengthens the coordinate bond between them. Compared with Cl-, ligands CN-, S2O32-, SC(NH2)2, and SCN- have very large covalent contribution to the coordinate bond with Au+, which explains the special stability of Au-CN and Au-S bonds. The degree of covalency and bond energy in Au-ligand bonding decreases from Au(CN)2-, Au(S2O3)23-, Au[SC(NH2)2]2+, Au(SCN)2-, to AuCl2-, which interprets the stability of the five complexes: Au(CN)2- > Au(S2O3)23- > Au[SC(NH2)2]2+ > Au(SCN)2- > AuCl2-.

Environmentally Benign, Rapid, and Selective Extraction of Gold from Ores and Waste Electronic Materials.

The extraction of gold from ores and electronic waste is an important topic worldwide, as this precious metal has immense value in a variety of fields. However, serious environmental pollution and high energy consumption due to the use of toxic oxidation reagents and harsh reaction conditions is a well-known problem in the gold industry. Herein, we report a new chemical method based on the combined use of N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) and pyridine (Py), which has a greatly decreased environmental impact and reagent cost, as well as mild reaction requirements. This method can directly leach Au0 from gold ore and electronic waste to form AuIII in water. The process is achieved in a yield of approximately 90 % at room temperature and a nearly neutral pH. The minimum dose of NBS/Py is as low as 10 mm, which exhibits low toxicity towards mammalian cells and animals as well as aquatic creatures. The high leaching selectivity of Au over other metals during gold leaching is demonstrated, showing that this method has great potential for practical industrial application towards the sustainable refining of gold from ores and electronic waste.

Thiosulfate leaching in carbonaceous gold-bearing ores in Ethiopia.

One of the main unit operations in metallurgical processing plant designs is gold leaching. The traditional cyanidation process was chosen and is currently in widespread use. However, the mining sector is looking for lixiviants other than cyanide. Cyanide's effects on the environment have made it difficult for humans and other biotic creatures to survive. There is now research to discover a substitute for this cyanide. It is currently argued that thiosulfate is a preferable substitute for cyanide. The effectiveness of thiosulfate as a leaching agent in carbonaceous gold-bearing ores in Ethiopia is discussed in this paper compared to cyanide. The study has looked into the advantages of employing thiosulfate over cyanide from a technical, and economic standpoint. The leaching effects of both lixiviants on carbonaceous gold-bearing ores extracted from MIDROC Legadembi Open Pit mine in Southern Ethiopia, Oromia region, were examined in a laboratory experiment. After 48 h of leaching, it was discovered that thiosulfate has a better and quicker recovery of 91.54% over 61.70% of cyanide recovery. Tables and graphs are used to demonstrate thiosulfate's technical advantage over cyanide. As a result, this paper provides evidence regarding the Legadembi gold mine in Ethiopia's amenability to thiosulfate leaching on carbonaceous gold-bearing ores. A further research perspective is also sought for thiosulfate leaching in other refractory ores.

Effect of sodium acetate additive on gold leaching with cyanide solution: Laboratory and semi-pilot leaching tests.

Heap leaching with a cyanide solution is used for processing low-grade ores; however, owing to the chemical, mineralogical, and physical characteristics of ores and their particle size distribution, extraction efficiencies are often low. This study investigated the effects of sodium acetate addition on gold extraction from Akshoky deposit ores under laboratory and semi-pilot laboratory test conditions. The gold-bearing ore used in this study had average gold and silver contents of 1.32 and 3.27 g/t, respectively. The chemical composition of the ore was as follows (wt%): copper: 0.0185, nickel: 0.0090, cobalt: 0.0025, zinc: 0.0470, lead: 0.0095, total iron: 4.10, calcium oxide: 3.08, magnesium oxide: 1.10, sodium oxide: 1.40, potassium oxide: 0.82, silicon oxide: 64.22, aluminum oxide: 13.37, arsenic: 0.023, antimony: 0.0024, total sulfur: 0.24, sulfate sulfur: 0.040, and sulfide sulfur: 0.20. Gold in the ore occurs in different forms: free/native form grains (82 %), covered with films (3.28 %), associated with sulfides (6.56 %), and in fine-grained form (8.20 %). Laboratory tests showed that gold dissolution from ground ore by a cyanide solution without sodium acetate addition was 83.08 %. However, with sodium acetate addition (0.1; 0.5; 1.0 kg/t), it increased to 84.38-86.61 %. Semi-pilot laboratory tests under heap-leaching conditions confirmed the positive effects of sodium acetate. The increase in gold extraction was 7.6 % (62.9 %) compared with that in the experiments without reagent addition (55.30 %).

Selective gold extraction from electronic waste using high-temperature-synthesized reagents.

For over two hundred years, cyanide has served as the primary reagent for gold extraction. However, due to its high toxicity, the use of cyanide poses significant risks. Traditional low-toxicity leaching reagents have limitations that restrict their widespread industrial application, leading to the necessity for the development of new, efficient, and low-toxic gold leaching reagents to support sustainable gold production. In this study, a novel, efficient, and low-toxicity gold extraction reagent was synthesized at high temperatures by combining urea, sodium carbonate, and a specific iron salt. The research delved into the leaching ability of the reagent under different synthesis conditions and examined the generation of free cyanide content as a by-product. Findings indicated that reagents synthesized with either potassium ferrocyanide or potassium ferricyanide displayed comparable leaching capabilities. Reagents synthesized at 800 °C exhibited lower levels of free cyanide ions and reduced toxicity. Additionally, this reagent demonstrated exceptional selectivity for gold, while in minimal dissolution of copper, iron, nickel, lead, and iron from computer central processing unit (CPU) pins. Under optimal conditions, the efficiency of gold extraction from CPU pins reached 94.65%. Hence, this reagent holds significant potential for the low-toxicity extraction of gold from electronic waste or auriferous concentrates.

Simple and near-zero-waste processing for recycling gold at a high purity level from waste printed circuit boards.

This work proposes an efficient and simple hydrometallurgical process based on a chlorination step followed by an ion-exchange step for recycling gold (Au) from a waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) enriched in Au resulting from a first leaching step under mild oxidizing conditions for extracting Cu and other base metals. Under optimized [3.5 mol/L HCl and 0.46 mol/L NaClO, with a liquid/solid (L/S) ratio of 40, at 40 °C for 3 h with agitation] leaching conditions, 95% Au was extracted from the residue originating a multi-metal solution containing 1.0% Au. Subsequently, Au (initial concentration: 38 µmol/L) present in the multimetal-leached solution was purified in continuous mode using two strong anionic exchange resins: DOW™ XZ-91419.00 and Purogold™ A194. Both resins were suitable in purifying Au from the multimetal-leaching solution, with at least 70% of Au recovered relative to the initial residue. When the DOW™ XZ-91419.00 resin was used, a solution containing 1.7 mmol/L Au with a purity grade of 94% was obtained, with Pb and Sn being the major contaminants (3.3 and 2.4%, respectively). For Purogold™ A194 resin, a solution containing 0.73 mmol/L Au with a purity grade of 92% was achieved; Ag, Pb and Pd were the major contaminants (1.4, 3.6 and 1.8%, respectively). In conclusion, this work demonstrates a novel hydrometallurgical strategy for recycling Au with a high grade from WPCBs, minimizing the number of leaching and purification steps and the amount of waste created.

Treatment of As-rich mine effluents and produced residues stability: Current knowledge and research priorities for gold mining.

Refractory ores, in which gold is often embedded within As-bearing and acid-generating sulfide minerals, are becoming the main gold source worldwide. These ores require an oxidizing pre-treatment, prior to cyanidation, to efficiently breakdown the sulfides and enhance gold liberation. As a result, large volumes of As-rich effluents (> 500 mg/L) are produced through the pre-oxidation of refractory gold ores and/or the exposure of As-bearing tailings upon exposure to air and water. Limited information is available on performant treatment of these effluents, especially of pre-oxidation effluents characterized by a complex chemistry, extremely acidic or alkaline pH and high concentrations of arsenic. The treatment of As-rich effluents is mainly based on precipitation (using Al or Fe salts and/or Ca-based compounds) and (electro)-chemical or biological oxidation processes. A performant treatment process must maximize As removal from contaminated mine water and allow for the production of residues that are geochemically stable over the long term. An extensive literature review showed that Fe(III)-As(V) precipitates, especially bioscorodite and (nano)scorodite, appear to be the most appropriate forms to immobilize As due to their low solubility and high stability, especially when encapsulated within an inert material such as hydroxyl gels. Research is still required to assess the long-term stability of these As-bearing residues under mine-site conditions for the sustainable exploitation of refractory gold deposits.

Gold leaching by organic base polythionates: new non-toxic and secure technology.

The article present a review on own experimental and some published data which are related with the gold leaching. It is well-known that the most common and usual process of the leaching with cyanide can be dangerous, needs a great water consumption, and additional costs for remediation of the poisoned and toxic sites. The experimental data described production of poythionates which are not toxic but perspective for the prosperous gold leaching. The paper dedicated to the safe gold leaching with thiosulfates and organic salts of polythionic acids (organic base polythionates). The method of production of these polythionates based on the Smolyaninov reaction is described in stages and in details for the first time. Possible application of the polythionates application in the gold leaching is discussed and its advantages are compared with the gold leaching by cyanation.