Alkine pre-treatment of jarosite minerals when leaching gold and silver from zinc refinery residue.

Thesis (MTech. degree in Metallurgic Engineering)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2008.The purpose of this study is to develop a feasible process for extracting gold and silver from an electrolytic zinc refinery residue. Composite samples of electrolytic zinc refining lead-silver residues containing traces of gold (1.35 g/t) and significant amounts of silver (155 g/t) were subjected to batchwise cyanide leaching to assess the feasibility of extracting gold and silver. This project was concluded with a recommendation that a pilot Residue Leach Plant should be commissioned to beneficiate gold and silver from the residue dam for a better estimation of lime, cyanide consumptions and gold and silver recoveries. The return on capital investment will be high at current gold price and operational cost is low. It is also recommended to investigate the economics of cyanide leaching of a pre-concentrate obtained from froth flotation