Recovery of gold and silver from ammoniacal thiosulfate solutions containing copper by resin ion exchange method

This research was undertaken to study the suitable physico-chemical conditions for the selective recovery of gold and silver from simulated thiosulfate leach liquors containing copper, gold or silver, ammonia and thiosulfate using three anion exchange resins. In particular, the effect of chemical variables such as thiosulfate, cupric ion and ammonia concentrations and the solution potential of the system on the batch loading of silver and gold onto the resins have been investigated in detail. Pourbaix diagrams have been constructed to understand the stability of this complex system under various Eh and pH conditions. The experimental results indicate that IRA-400 resin has the highest capacity for both silver and gold compared to IRA-68 and IRA-94. All the three resins investigated are not selective to silver and gold over copper. The elution studies using ammonium thiosulfate solutions have revealed that selective elution of silver from copper is not possible, while some selectivity can be achieved between gold and copper. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.