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INTEGRATION OF GOLD AND SILICA SPECIES IN METALLURGICAL PROCESSING OF
GOLD ORES
Dai Shujuan 1,*, Feng Dingwu,Hu Zhigang2
1
Liaoning University of Science and Technology,Liaoning Anshan 114051, China;
Liaoning Academy of Geology and Mineral Resources,Shenyang 110032, China
2
ABSTRACT
There commonly exist quartz and silicate minerals in gold ores.The study results of integration of gold and
silica species in metallurgical processing of gold ores can enrich and improve the rule of processing and
metallurgical of gold, and provide scientific basis for the process enhancement for gold recovery.
Ultrafine grinding of gold ores decreased leaching rate of gold. Similarly, the gold concentration in
solution gradually drops by contacting gold chloride (HAuCl4) at different pH levels with calcined silicate
minerals, e.g. kaolinite.This indicates that gold interacts with silicates after thermochemical or mechanoche
mical activation, forming special Au_Si structures in hydrometallurgical processing of gold ores. Infrared
spectra of activated kaolinite at various pH values showed that kaolinite surface became amorphous silica
gel gradually with the decrease of pH value, and the active silica gel then interacted with gold. The XPS
analysis of activated kaolinite showed that gold adsorbed on the activated kaolinite surface mainly by
chemical reduction. Chloroauric acid is likely to form a Au-Si structure with silica gel.
KEYWORDS
Gold,Silicate,Silica species,Gold-silica interaction