Abstract
The transformation of chemically bound gold into metallic gold during industrial scale roasting of an arsenical gold ore concentrate from the Fairview Mine, Eastern Transvaal, has been studied quantitatively by197Au Mössbauer spectroscopy. The iron compounds in the concentrate, mainly FeAsS and FeS2 and their transformations during roasting have been studied by57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. The bound gold is found to convert into the metal in parallel to the decomposition of FeAsS and the increase in cyanide leachability. this shows that the refractory character of the ore is caused by the chemical bonding of the gold rather than by the physical inclusion of small, discrete metallic particles in the matrix of FeAsS or FeS2. The ratio of thef-factors of gold bound in the FeAsS component of a refractory ore and of metallic gold was determined to bef(Au:FeAsS)/f(Au)=1.48±0.09.
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Wagner, F.E., Swash, P.M., Marion, P. et al. A197Au and57Fe mössbauer study of the roasting of refractory gold ores. Hyperfine Interact 46, 681–688 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02398259
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02398259