Overthe past few years, the gold price has steadily increased. But this is not theend, and this upward trend is expected to continue in the coming years. Times have changed and gold is becoming increasingly important as a currency becauseof the global epidemic（COVID-19） and local political unrest. As a result, the demand for gold is steadily increasing.
Activated carbon is an important tool in the gold beneficiation process to separate goldthat has been dissolved in cyanide solutions, allowing it to be recovered.
How does activated carbon work?
Activated carbon is a material produced from a carbon-rich source that has an incredibly porous surface structure that produces a huge surface area for adsorbing materials. This diverse material is used in many industries to remove contaminants from liquids or gases, such as water purification, scrubbing of gaseous contaminants in industrial processing facilities, and even in the food and beverage industry to ensure product quality.
What is CIP/CIL/CIC gold extraction?
- CIP(Carbon in Pulp): gold pulp is mixed with sodium cyanide, then is contacted withactivated carbon in a series of large agitated adsorption tanks.
- CIL(Carbon in Leach): similar to CIP but leaching and adsorption occur simultaneously.
- CIC(Carbon in Column) for Heap leaching: dilute cyanide solution percolate over aheap of crushed ores and is then pumped through activated carbon columns.
What is the process of the heap leaching method?
For the gold bearing ore, first people need to crush the ore into small pieces, and transport to gather them together. Then heap dipping it with NaOH or NaCN.
Cyanide is a lixiviant, or reagent that is used to leach, often in tanks, gold from a solid matrix and form a gold cyanide complex. The gold cyanide complex is then extracted from the pulp or slurry by adsorption onto activated carbon.
This is a gold extraction process called cyanidation where carbon is added to the leach tanks (or reaction vessel) so that leaching and adsorption take place in the same tanks.
And will come out the rough gold from it. The rough gold will be processed into fine gold.
How to choose activated carbon for gold extraction?
It is important to choose the most suitable activated carbon for the process ofthe gold recovery because each loss of activated carbon stands for a reductionof the gold output. Coconut shell-activated carbon is the first choice. It isthe key element in CIC, CIL, and CIP processes. Coconut shell carbon is widelyused for a couple of reasons.
- The hardness is very good, it is high than other raw materials of activatedcarbons, like coal or apricot shell. So during gold mining, it is not easy towear.
- It is with well-developed micropores, so for coconut activated carbon, it isvery suitable for gold mine to reduce gold losses.
Also particle size distribution is another key factor in the selection of activatedcarbon for gold recovery, as it is largely related to the adsorption rate. Forgold minning, 6*12mesh coconut shell activated carbon is preferred. Becausethis particle size can take into account the adsorption capacity and at thesame time has a good adsorption speed.
What is the important index for the coconut carbon?
R-value reflects the gold adsorption rate and the kinetic properties of the activated carbon. The percentage of gold adsorbed after 1 h from a prepared 10 mg Au/l solution is known as the “R-value”.
K – Valuereflects the gold adsorption capacity at equilibrium. It is issued from the Freundlich adsorption is another of pulverized activated carbon in a 1 mg gold/liter solution.
Activated carbon CTC – The index to check the adsorption performance of activated carbon (we often provide CTC55 or CTC60 coconut carbon)
How to simply identify the quality of coconut carbon?
- First of all, good quality coconut shell carbon is very plump and uniform, it has a good look.
- Secondly, we can put it in water. If the bubbles are more and very vigorous, the better it is.
- Third, feel the weight. If you feel very light, it’s better. Because there are more pores, the absorption will be better.
Our activated carbons are manufactured from selected highest quality coconut shellsin order to achieve outstandinghardness and attrition resistance. The highly developed micro porous porestructure suits particularlyto provide the best adsorption from aqueous cyanide solutions in CIP, CIL and CIC systems.
How to choose your activated carbon supplier
Zhulin activated carbon products meet the national standards for gold recovery applications. Our modern manufacturing facilities offer high quality products for fast delivery worldwide. Our technical expertise and supply capabilities will provide you with the most cost-effective solution for your gold recovery application.
FAQ about activated carbon for gold mine?
- What is the proportion of coconut shell activated carbon added in gold refining? How many squares of ore-containing
aqueous solution need to add how much activated carbon?
In general gold ore dressing plants, the amount of activated carbon added is expressed by the density of bottom carbon. The unit is how many grams per liter. It is, g/L, that is to say, how many grams of activated carbon is added to each liter of pulp, generally is 12~24g/L from experience. Generally, it increases gradually from front to back in the immersion tank. The specific amount generally depends on the process conditions on site, which has a certain relationship with our activated carbon, but it is not the only influencing factor. It is the work to be done by the plant manager and mineral processing engineer.
Please feel free to contact us for any questions or quotations on gold activated carbon, you can also use the inquiry form below.