Gold heap leaching technology: an efficient solution for extracting low-grade gold ores

Gold heap leaching is primarily divided into two mining methods:

1. Open-pit mining: This method extracts minerals from an open pit, without the need for tunnels or underground mining. Open-pit mining is the most common choice when mineral resources are near the surface.
2. Underground mining: Used to extract ores and materials located deep underground, typically for expensive metals such as gold, iron ore, and limestone

Heap Leaching Process

Heap leaching is widely applied in gold extraction due to its simplicity, minimal equipment, low investment, and low energy consumption. The process mainly includes the following stages:

1. Ore Preparation: This includes crushing, granulation, and pretreatment to improve the ore's leachability and permeability.
2. Leaching Pad Construction: The base of the heap site is prepared and lined to prevent solution leakage.
3. Heap Building: Ensuring the heap has good permeability and stability.
4. Leaching Solution Preparation: Cyanide solution is used for leaching.
5. Solution Application and Collection: The heap is sprayed with the leaching solution through sprinklers, and the enriched solution is collected.
6. Enriched Solution Treatment: Gold is separated from the solution using activated carbon or zinc methods.

Market Trends

• Low-Grade Gold Ores: Low-grade gold ores are typically processed using heap leaching and dominate the market. As the average ore grade declines, the application of heap leaching will continue to grow.
• Technological Advancements: Continuous improvements in heap leaching technology have increased gold recovery rates and economic benefits.
• Regional Concentration: The global gold mining market is gradually concentrating in regions rich in high-grade ores, such as Nevada in the USA, Russia, and Peru.

Advantages

• Simple process, minimal equipment, low investment, and production costs.
• Suitable for processing low-grade ores and ores that cannot be treated by traditional methods.

Conclusion

The gold heap leaching market has broad applications globally, especially in the extraction of low-grade gold ores. With technological advancements and increasing market demand, heap leaching will continue to play an important role in the future.

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