Gold Cyanidation: Cairo Universty Faculty of Engineering 3 Year Mining Department
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Mourad HosniGold Cyanidation: Cairo Universty Faculty of Engineering 3 Year Mining Department
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Mourad HosniSafety Mourad.Hosni@hotmail.
com
Cairo Universty
Faculty of Engineering
3rd year Mining Department
Gold Cyanidation
Presented to Dr: Mohamed El Wageeh
Prepared By:
Eng. Mourad Hosni
Mourad.hosni@hotmail.com
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Contents:
Cyanide
Gold Cyanidation
Cyanidation Reaction
Environmental Effects
Personal Hygiene Procedures
Storage
Spills and Leaks
References
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Cyanide:
A cyanide is any chemical compound that contains the cyano group
(C≡N), which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen
atom. Inorganic cyanides are hydrogen cyanide salts in which cyanide is
generally the anion CN-. Organic compounds that have a -C≡N functional
group bonded to an alkyl residue are called nitriles in IUPAC
nomenclature. The cyanide radical CN is commonly produced in
reactions and has been identified in interstellar space. Of the many kinds
of cyanide compounds, some are gases, others are solids or liquids.
Those that can release the cyanide ion CN- are highly toxic.
An example of a nitrile is CH3CN, acetonitrile or ethanenitrile per IUPAC,
also known as methyl cyanide. Nitriles do not release cyanide ions. A
functional group with a hydroxyl and cyanide on the same carbon is
called cyanohydrin, and it is hydrolyzed into hydrogen cyanide and a
carbonyl compound (ketone or aldehyde).
Gold Cyanidation
(also known as the cyanide process or the MacArthur-Forrest process) is
a metallurgical technique for extracting gold from low-grade ore by
converting the gold to water soluble aurocyanide metallic complex ions.
It is the most commonly used process for gold extraction. Due to the
highly poisonous nature of cyanide, the process is highly controversial.
The Reaction
The chemical reaction is called the Elsner Equation as follows :
4Au + 8NaCN + O2 + 2H2O → 4NaAu(CN)2 + 4NaOH
It is an electrochemical process in which oxygen picks up electrons from
the gold at a cathodic area, whilst gold ions are rapidly complexed by the
cyanide around the anodic area to form the soluble aurocyanide
complex.
In 1896 Bodländer confirmed that oxygen was necessary, something that
was doubted by MacArthur, and discovered that hydrogen peroxide was
formed as an intermediate.
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Cyanidation Process
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Environmental Effects:
The process is controversial, due to the highly toxic nature of cyanide.
However, free cyanide breaks down rapidly when exposed to sunlight,
although the less toxic compounds such as cyanates and thiocyanates
may persist for some years. The famous disasters tend not to kill many
people, as humans can be warned not to drink or go near polluted
water. However cyanide spills can have a devastating effect on rivers,
killing everything for several miles downstream. Fish are the most
obvious casualties, but in fact the whole food chain collapses, from
phytoplankton to ospreys. However the pollution is soon washed out of
river systems and as long as organisms can migrate from unpolluted
areas upstream, affected areas can soon be repopulated - in the Somes
river below Baia Mare the plankton returned to 60% of normal within 16
days of the spill. Another problem is that bleach may be added as an
antidote, but it contains enough free chlorine to be an environmental
threat in its own right.
Over 90 mines worldwide now use an Inco SO2/air detoxification circuit
to convert cyanide to the much less toxic cyanate before waste is
discharged to a tailings pond. Typically this process blows compressed
air through the tailings while adding sodium metabisulfite (which
releases SO2), lime to maintain the pH at around 8.5, and copper sulfate
as a catalyst if there's not enough copper in the ore. This can reduce
concentrations of Weak Acid Dissociable (WAD) cyanide to below the
10ppm mandated by the EU's Mining Waste Directive. This compares to
levels of 66-81ppm free cyanide and 500-1000ppm total cyanide in the
pond at Baia Mare. Remaining WAD cyanide breaks down naturally in
the pond, whilst cyanate is naturally hydrolysed to ammonium ions and
then to nitrate.
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Obviously most mines handle large quantities of cyanide without
hitting the headlines, but famous cyanide spills include:
Year Mine Country Incident
1985-
Summitville USA Leakage from leach pad
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1995 Omai Guyana Collapse of tailings dam
1998 Kumtor Kyrgyzstan Truck drove over bridge
2000 Baia Mare Romania Collapse of tailings dam
Papua New Helicopter dropped crate into
2000 Tolukuma
Guinea rainforest
2001 Tarkwa Ghana Overflow from tailings pond
Such disasters have prompted fierce protests at new mines that want to
use cyanide, such as Roşia Montană in Romania, Lake Cowal in Australia
and Pascua Lama in Chile.
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Personal Hygiene Procedures:
If hydrogen cyanide contacts the skin, workers should flush the affected
areas immediately with plenty of water, followed by washing with soap
and water.
Clothing contaminated with hydrogen cyanide should be removed
immediately, and provisions should be made for the safe removal of the
chemical from the clothing. Persons laundering the clothes should be
informed of the hazardous properties of hydrogen cyanide, particularly
its potential for severe systemic toxicity by dermal absorption or
inhalation.
A worker who handles hydrogen cyanide should thoroughly wash hands,
forearms, and face with soap and water before eating, using tobacco
products, using toilet facilities, applying cosmetics, or taking medication.
Workers should not eat, drink, use tobacco products, apply cosmetics, or
take medication in areas where hydrogen cyanide or a solution
containing hydrogen cyanide is handled, processed, or stored.
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Storage:
Hydrogen cyanide should be stored in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area in
tightly sealed containers that are labeled in accordance with OSHA's
Hazard Communication Standard [29 CFR 1910.1200]. Containers of
hydrogen cyanide should be protected from physical damage and should
be stored separately from amines; oxidizers such as perchlorates,
peroxides, permanganates, chlorates, and nitrates; strong acids such as
hydrochloric, sulfuric and nitric; sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide,
sodium carbonate, water, ammonia, acetaldehyde, and caustics.
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Spills and Leaks:
In the event of a spill or leak involving hydrogen cyanide, persons not
wearing protective equipment and clothing should be restricted from
contaminated areas until cleanup has been completed. The following
steps should be undertaken following a spill or leak:
1. Notify safety personnel.
2. Remove all sources of heat and ignition.
3. Ventilate potentially explosive atmospheres.
4. Do not touch the spilled material; stop the leak if it is possible to do so
without risk.
5. Use non-sparking tools.
6. If source of leak is a cylinder and the leak cannot be stopped in place,
remove the laking cylinder to a safe place and repair leak or allow
cylinder to empty. Use water sprays to protect personnel attempting to
locate and seal the source of escaping hydrogen cyanide gas.
7. For small liquid spills, take up with sand or other noncombustible
absorbent material and place into closed containers for later disposal.
8. Prevent hydrogen cyanide from accumulating in a confined space,
such as a sewer, because of the possibility of an explosion.
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References:
1- http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/healthguidelines/hydrogencyanide/re
cognition.html
2- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_cyanidation
3- http://www.cyanidecode.org/
4- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanide
5- http://www.stock-xpress.com/acatalog/PICS/TOXSYMB.jpg
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