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Electrochemical dissolution behavior of gold and its main coexistent sulfide minerals in acid thiocyanate solutions

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Abstract

Electrochemical tests were developed to investigate the electrochemical dissolution behavior of gold and its main coexistent sulfide minerals in acid thiocyanate solutions. The optimal leaching conditions for gold in acidic thiocyanate system were pH 2, 0.15 mol·L−1 thiocyanate and 0.2 g·L−1 Fe3+. Fe3+ addition to the acidic thiocyanate system promoted gold dissolution significantly, arsenopyrite dissolution was inhibited, chalcopyrite dissolution was increased, and the dissolution behavior of other associated minerals remained mostly unchanged. Thiocyanate made gold and associated mineral leaching easier. The galvanic corrosion effect of gold and its main coexistent sulfide minerals in an acidic thiocyanate-free system was that the chalcocite, arsenopyrite and pyrite acted as a cathode to reduce anodic gold dissolution; galena as an anode undergoes oxidation to inhibit anodic gold dissolution. There was almost no galvanic corrosion behavior between stibnite, yellow sphalerite and black sphalerite and gold. Thiocyanate addition changed the galvanic corrosion behavior of stibnite and yellow sphalerite in the thiocyanate system, which inhibited anodic gold dissolution. In the acidic thiocyanate system in the presence of ferric iron, the arsenopyrite promoted anodic gold dissolution, the chalcocite and gold were mostly free of galvanic corrosion, and the remaining minerals inhibited anodic gold dissolution.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Project (No. 2018YFC1900301), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51504031) and the Innovation Fund of the General Research Institute for Nonferrous Metals (No. 53319,533801).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Engineering Laboratory of Biohydrometallurgy, GRINM Group Co., Ltd., Beijing, 100088, China

    Guan Le, Wen-Juan Li & Yong-Sheng Song

  2. GRINM Resources and Environment Tech. Co., Ltd., Beijing, 101407, China

    Guan Le, Wen-Juan Li, Yong-Sheng Song & Yong Chen

  3. General Research Institute for Nonferrous Metals, Beijing, 100088, China

    Guan Le

  4. School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing, 100083, China

    Wen-Juan Li

  5. GRIMAT Engineering Institute Co., Ltd. (GRIMAT), Beijing, 101407, China

    Wen-Juan Li

  6. Beijing Vocational College of Labour and Social Security, Beijing, 102200, China

    An-Ping Bai

  7. Jiangxi Copper Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd, Nanchang, 330096, China

    Kun Song

  8. Jiangsu East China Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau, Nanjing, 210007, China

    Yu Cheng

Authors
  1. Guan Le
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  2. Wen-Juan Li
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  3. Kun Song
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  4. Yong-Sheng Song
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  5. Yong Chen
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  6. An-Ping Bai
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  7. Yu Cheng
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Correspondence to Wen-Juan Li or Yong Chen.

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Le, G., Li, WJ., Song, K. et al. Electrochemical dissolution behavior of gold and its main coexistent sulfide minerals in acid thiocyanate solutions. Rare Met. 41, 254–261 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-020-01614-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-020-01614-y

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