A complete gold-processing plant integrates various stages to extract gold from ore efficiently. Below is a detailed breakdown of the components, processes, and considerations involved in setting up a fully functional gold-processing facility.
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1. Key Components of a Gold-Processing Plant
A typical plant includes:
# A. Crushing Circuit
– Primary Crusher (Jaw/Gyratory): Reduces large ore chunks to smaller fragments.
– Secondary Crusher (Cone/Impact): Further crushes material to ~10–20 mm.
– Tertiary Crushing (Optional): Ball mills or HPGR for finer grinding.
# B. Grinding Circuit
– Ball Mill/SAG Mill: Pulverizes ore into fine particles (~75–150 microns) for liberation.
– Cyclones/Classifiers: Separates particles by size; oversize is recirculated.
# C. Gravity Separation (Optional)
– Shaking Tables, Knelson/Falcon Concentrators: Recovers free gold before leaching.
– Slurry Pumps: Moves material between stages.
# D. Leaching & Adsorption
– CIL (Carbon-in-Leach) or CIP (Carbon-in-Pulp) Tanks: Gold dissolves in cyanide solution; activated carbon adsorbs gold.
– Agitators/Tanks: Ensure uniform mixing of slurry and reagents.
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# E. Elution & Electrowinning
– Elution Column: Strips gold from carbon using hot caustic solution.
– Electrowinning Cells: Gold precipitates onto steel wool cathodes.
# F. Smelting & Refining
– Furnace (Induction/Arc): Melts gold sludge into doré bars (~90% purity).
– Refining (Aqua Regia/Electrolysis): Produces 99.99% pure gold.
# G. Tailings Management
– Thickeners/Filter Presses: Dewaters waste slurry.
– Tailings Dam/Cyanide Detox (SO₂/UV): Safe disposal of residues.
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2. Process Flow Summary
1. Ore Preparation: Crushing → Grinding → Classification.
2. Gold Extraction:
– Gravity separation (if applicable).
– Leaching (cyanide/thiosulfate) + Carbon adsorption.
3. Gold Recovery:
– Elution → Electrow