Study of the Processes of Sorption and Desorption of Gold and Copper From a Cyanide Leaching Solution With a High Copper Content

This paper presents a study of the sorption and desorption processes of gold and copper from a previously obtained cyanide leaching solution of gold-copper ore from one of the deposits in the Republic of Kazakhstan with a high copper content. As a result, it was established that the minimum number of sorption stages to ensure the minimum residual gold content in the solution is 4. The maximum gold content achieved in the tests was 2.8 kg/t. The copper content was 7.2 kg/t. The results of copper desorption tests showed that when 73-82% of copper was extracted into the desorbing solution, gold losses with this solution did not exceed 0.1%. The degree of copper desorption from coal with a copper content of 0.13% during a 10-hour process at 40 °C was 76.7% with a residual content of 0.029%, and at a temperature of 20 °C it was 73.8% with a residual content in coal of 0.034%. Due to the decrease in the degree of copper desorption, the solution should be renewed after 3-4 operations.