Evaluation of the effect of adding hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent in the cyanide leaching process to improve gold recovery
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26439/ing.ind2026.n50.8636Keywords:
adsorption, cyanidation, gold, hydrogen peroxide, sodium cyanideAbstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of adding hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as an oxidizing agent in cyanide leaching to improve gold recovery. Three tests were conducted, progressively adding three different volumes of 50 % H2O2 (60, 75, and 90 mL) over the 12-hour process, along with three volumes of NaCN (198, 188, and 158 mL). A control of 198 mL of NaCN (10 %) was added. It was observed that increasing the H2O2 addition decreased NaCN consumption and increased total gold content. The recovery was carried out using activated carbon to adsorb the metal. In the control, 1,82 g/m³ was obtained; in test 1, 1,86 g/m³; in test 2, 2,05 g/m³; and in test 3, 2,75 g/m³. NaCN consumption decreased to: control 256 mL/h, test 1: 198 mL/h, test 2: 188 mL/h, and test 3: 158 mL/h. The increase in H2O2 was 25 % in each of the tests. In conclusion, the addition of hydrogen peroxide favors a decrease in NaCN consumption in the process and increases the Au recovery percentages.
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