“Albyn Mine” JSC, Blagoveshchensk, Russia:

V. V. Zhmurova, Head of a Technical Control Department, e-mail: v_pichugina@list.ru

Irkutsk State Technical University, Irkutsk, Russia:
A. I. Karpukhin, Professor of a Chair of Non-ferrous Metals Metallurgy

This article presents the obtaining analysis of a cathodic sediments on “Berezitovy rudnik” JSC. This company holds a processing of gold-polymetallic low-sulphide ore with a mass fraction of sulphidic minerals by 5–10%. The content of gold in ore is by 2 g/t and silver content is by 10 g/t. The enterprise`s technological scheme of ore processing includes the following operations: breaking; two-phase crushing in a cyanic environment; condensation; preliminary and sorbtion cyanidation by “coal in a pulp” method; filtration and warehousing of cakes in a moist tailings’ dump. As a result of existing technology, the cathodic sediments have a very low content of precious metals and a significant amount of impurities, such as copper, lead and iron. During the cathodic sediments` fusion, these impurities pass to an ingot and reduce its gold fineness and increase the refining costs. The search experiments on a cathodic sediments leaching on “Berezitovy rudnik” JSC were made by solutions of sulfuric, hydrochloric and nitric acids. The received results specify that leaching by sulfuric acid solutions is possible to extract no more than 20% of impurities. Leaching by hydrochloric acid solutions with high concentration (370 g/l) gives the chance to extract for 50% of impurities. Leaching the nitric acid solutions allows to extract more than 50% of impurities. During the fusion of cathodic sediments, which were processed by nitric acid, it is possible to receive a gold ligature alloy with a mass fraction of noble metals by 95–99%. The received results showed an expediency of further researches on a leaching of a low-standard cathodic sediments by nitric acid solutions.

1. Plaksin I. N., Yukhtanov D. M. Gidrometallurgiya (Hydrome tallurgy). Moscow : Metallurgizdat, 1949. 905 p.
2. Zhmurova V. V. Razrabotka sposoba polucheniya splava blagorodnykh metallov s minimalnym kolichestvom primesey (Development of approach of noble metalls alloy obtaining with minimum quantity of impurities). Sbornik dokladov vtorogo mezhdunarodnogo kongressa “Tsvetnye metally–2010” (Reports of the second International Congress “Non-ferrous metals-2010”). Krasnoyarsk : “Verso” JSC, 2010. 325 p.
3. Kotlyar Yu. Ya., Meretukov M. A., Strizhko L. S. Metallurgiya blagorodnykh metallov : uchebnik. V 2 knigakh. Kniga 1 (Metallurgy of noble metals : tutorial. In 2 volumes. Volume 1). Moscow : MISiS, “Ore and Metals”, 2005. 432 p.
4. Utkin N. I. Metallurgiya tsvetnykh metallov : uchebnik dlya tekhnikumov (Metallurgy of non-ferrous metals : tutorial for technical schools). Moscow : Metallurgiya, 1985. 440 p.
5. Meretukov M. A., Orlov A. M. Metallurgiya blagorodnykh metallov. Zarubezhnyy opyt (Metallurgy of noble metals. Foreign experience). Moscow : Metallurgiya, 1991. 416 p.
6. Perspektivy razvitiya tekhnologii pererabotki uglevodorodnykh, rastitelnykh i mineralnykh resursov (Development prospects of processing technology of hydrocarbon, plant and mineral resources). Materialy Vserossiyskoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii s mezhdunarodnym uchastiem (Materials of All-Russian scientific and practical Conference with international participation). Irkutsk : Irkutsk State Technical University, 2012. 196 p.
7. Chernyak A. S. Khimicheskoe obogashchenie rud (Chemical ore dressing). Moscow : Nedra, 1987. 237 p.