Gold Electrowinning from Cyanide Solutions Using Three-Dimensional Cathodes

Abstract

Work is devoted to studying electrowinning of precious metals, in particular gold, in rich cyanide solutions on three-dimensional cathodes of electronegative metals. The object studied is production solution obtained during cyanide leaching of gravitation concentrates containing about 95 g/m³ of gold, 30 g/m³ of silver, and 6.5 g/dm³ CN–. The effect of current density, electrolyte volume consumption, and cathode material on the degree of gold extraction are studied. An operating regime is established making it possible to extract more than 99% gold with a residual concentration below 0.1 g/m³.