Enhanced Gold Extraction from Roasted Refractory Gold Concentrate Through Mechanochemical Activation: Eliminating Secondary Gold Encapsulation
摘要
Mechanochemical activation was employed to improve thiocyanate leaching of gold from roasted refractory gold concentrate, aiming to eliminate secondary encapsulation by iron oxide minerals. This study systematically investigated process mineralogy, chemical composition, gold deportment, and leaching behavior and mechanisms. The gold grade was 54.38 g/t, predominantly distributed as fine grains (10–52 µm), with visible gold primarily in granular form irregularly embedded in iron oxide minerals. In the thiocyanate-MnO2 leaching system, the final leach results were as follows: 1.2 mol/L NaSCN, 4.0 mmol/L MnO2, pH 2.0, liquid–solid ratio 3:1, leaching time 6 h, disk rotation rate 150 rpm, ball milling jar rotation rate 300 rpm, and room temperature. Gold extraction reached 98.61%, demonstrating 3–4% improvement over direct cyanidation and conventional thiocyanate leaching.