An experimental study on gold precipitation from leach solutions of technogenic gold-bearing raw materials

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the study dedicated to the determination of the optimum parameters for the electrolytic gold precipitation from thiourea leach solutions. The leaching was carried out using technogenic gold-bearing raw materials (gold-bearing sands) of the Far East of the Russian Federation. The study focused on the influence of the below parameters of electrolytic precipitation: electrolyte composition, overall cathodic current density, electrode voltage, and structural design of an electrolytic cell. As the results of the experiments, the optimum electrolyte composition and parameters of the current (overall cathodic current density 1000 А/m², electrode voltage 6 V) were determined. Under these parameters, it is possible to recover up to 93 % of gold from thiourea leach solutions.

Keywords: technogenic gold-bearing raw materials, gold, thiourea leaching, electrolyte, cathodic current density, electrolytic cell