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Effect of bacterial adaptation and solution replacement on bioleaching of sulfidic gold ores

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Abstract

The effects of bacterial adaptation and partial replacement of leaching solution on the rate and extent of bioleaching reactions of a complex sulfidic gold ore were investigated.

The ore was first concentrated by bulk sulfide flotation, and the sulfide concentrate was treated by bioleaching using Thiobacillus ferrooxidans. The residues from bioleaching were treated by cyanidation to extract the gold and silver.

Bacterial adaptation before bioleaching significantly increased the rate and extent of bioleaching reactions. Similarly, the daily partial replacement of leaching liquor enhanced to a great extent the leaching rate, and in some cases, increases of up to ten-fold were observed. Both bacterial adaptation and solution replacement increased the gold recovery by about 2-fold and that of silver by about 1.3-fold.

In this work, more than 95% of the gold and more than 98% of the silver could be recovered from the sulfidic gold ore when bioleaching was used ahead of cyanidation, compared with 18.3% and 52.3% by direct cyanidation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials, Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Y. A. Attia (Member SME, associate professor)

  2. College of Petroleum and Mining Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering Department, Suez Canal University, Suez, Egypt

    M. Elzeky

Authors
  1. Y. A. Attia
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  2. M. Elzeky
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Additional information

SME non-meeting paper 90–641.

Discussion of this paper must be submitted, in duplicate, prior to Dec. 1, 1991.

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Attia, Y.A., Elzeky, M. Effect of bacterial adaptation and solution replacement on bioleaching of sulfidic gold ores. Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration 8, 122–127 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03402943

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03402943

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