Gold Re fining & Va lue Addit ion

M in a t a u r TM Gold Re fin in g Pla n t & Equ ipm e n t

Minataur gold refinery

The process com prises oxidat ive leaching of t he feed m at erial in a chloride m edium , followed by select ive solvent ex t ract ion of t he gold t o rej ect im purit ies. The loaded organic phase is t hen st ripped t o produce a purified, concent rat ed gold solut ion, from which high- pur it y gold powder is precipit at ed by reduct ion. The leach and reduct ion are operat ed bat ch w ise, while t he solvent ext ract ion is a cont inuous operat ion. The gold cont ent of t he feed can range from about 20 per cent t o 99 per cent . Suit able feeds include silver- refining anode slim es, gold elect ro- winning cat hode sludge, zinc precipit at ion filt rat es, dor bullion and j ewellery scrap. Mat erials wit h variable gold cont ent s can be handled. Minat aur plant s wit h capacit ies up t o 100 t / a have been inst alled in Sout h Africa, Algeria, I t aly , and Dubai.

The Minat aur refining t echnology is a unique all hydro- m et allurgical rout e, based on solvent ext ract ion, for refining gold t o a purit y of five nines ( 99.999 per cent ) . Com pared wit h convent ional sm elt ing and elect ro- refining t echnology , t he Minat aur process offers significant ly reduced lock- up t im es of t he gold easier operat ion and cont rol t he abilit y t o direct ly produce a high purit y product on- sit e I t is part icularly at t ract ive for feed m at erials cont aining significant quant it ies of base m et als.

Addit iona l m odule s Silve r r e fine r y I m pure silver anodes are produced from t he Minat aur leach residue using a pyrom et allurgical m et hod and refined elect rochem ically t o produce 99.9 per cent pure silver. Any gold ent rained in t he feed is liberat ed by t he process and ret urned t o t he gold refinery. Silve r nit r a t e pla nt Elect rochem ically refined silver is leached in nit ric acid and im purit ies rem oved from t he solut ion in various st ages. A final single or double- pass cryst allizat ion from t he purified solut ion produces AgNO3 at up t o 99.999 per cent purit y.

Gold pot a ssium cya nide ( GPC) pla nt The st art ing point for GPC product ion is 99.99 per cent pure gold powder or granules. This is elect rochem ically dissolved, wit h t he addit ion of pot assium hydroxide and pot assium cyanide in an ion- exchange m em brane cell t o form a solut ion of GPC.

The solut ion is chilled t o produce pure whit e cryst alline GPC, which is used prim arily for m aking up elect rolyt es for t he gold elect roplat ing indust r y. Five nine s pla nt The five nines plant em ploys a highly select ive precipit at ion t echnique t o produce 99.999 per cent pure gold using a bleed from t he loaded st r ip liquor from t he Minat aur TM refinery.

Con t in u ou s ba r ca st e r

To ensure good qualit y bars, all t he m aj or param et ers of t he process can be cont rolled: Feeding cycle det erm ined by t he opt ical pyrom et er or t im er Furnace heat ing rat e Solidificat ion zone leveling Cooling wat er flow rat es for t he solidificat ion zone and final cooling zone.

A Program m able Logic Cont roller ( PLC) is int erfaced wit h process int erlocks t o t he induct ion furnace, invert er syst em , feeder and t he cooling syst em t o ensure safe and reliable operat ion. Fe e d m a t e r ia l The feed m at erial for t he unit is granulat ed Good Delivery gold. The granules are sort ed int o t wo size fract ions t o facilit at e precise bar weight m easurem ent , and weighed in a bat ch weigher t o t he required m ass. The weighed gold is placed in plast ic cont ainers, each holding enough granules t o m ake one bar, t hen t ransferred t o t he graphit e crucibles ( m oulds) . Pr oce ss de scr ipt ion The loaded m oulds are placed ( norm ally in pairs) on a pneum at ic feeder t hat feeds t he furnace at a predet erm ined rat e. The gold is m elt ed by induct ion heat ing under an inert nit rogen at m osphere t o lim it ox idat ion of t he graphit e m oulds. Aft er t he m elt ing st ep, t he next pair of loaded m oulds is fed int o t he furnace; t hus t ransferring t he m oulds cont aining t he m olt en bars int o t he solidificat ion zone, where t hey are cooled at a cont rolled rat e t o ensure a qualit y

The Cont inuous Bar Cast er is a high- volum e gold m elt ing and set t ing m achine for m aking t en- t ola or 1 kg bars. The unit has a capacit y of 200 t en- t ola bars or 50 one- kilogram bars per hour. The heat ing of t he crucibles, t he m elt ing and solidificat ion of t he gold, and t he final cooling of t he crucible t akes place under an inert nit rogen at m osphere. An opt ical pyrom et er m easures t he t em perat ure inside t he induct ion furnace. Eit her t he crucible t em perat ure or t he cycle t im ing can be used t o det erm ine t he feed rat e of t he crucibles.

surface finish while m aint aining a uniform shape. At t he beginning of t he following cycle, t he next pair of m oulds ent ers t he solidificat ion zone; pushing t he warm m oulds int o t he final cooling zone for fast cooling t o t he desired exit t em perat ure. The cycle t im e and wat er cooling flow rat e det erm ine t he exit t em perat ure f or t he m oulds.

Cont r ol syst e m The cont rol panel is an Allen Bradley PLC cont rolled t ouch screen, which int erfaces t o all t he cont rol operat ions on t he bar cast er .

At om ij e t a nd At om ij e t - S

A t ypical At om ij et will allow a collect ion hopper t o be discharged direct ly int o a leaching vessel where t he m axim um t hroughput is about 20 m inut es per bat ch ( 150 kg/ h) if t he unit runs cont inuously. Two m odels are current ly available: t he At om ij e t for producing granules wit h a d50 in excess of 100 m , and t he At om ij e t - S for producing granules wit h a d50 of less t han 100 m . Locally Mint ek has inst alled an At om ij et - S and an At om ij et , bot h at Harm ony Gold, whereas four At om ij et s have been inst alled abroad in I t aly , Dubai, I ndia and Algeria. These are being applied for gold and recent gold- alloy developm ent s. At om ij e t A Mint ek At om ij et unit for preparing fine grained gold for leaching was inst alled and com m issioned at t he Shirpur Gold Refinery in I ndia at t he beginning of Decem ber 2002. Shirpur is I ndias largest gold refinery, wit h a capacit y of up t o 1.65 t of refined gold per day. I t em ploys t he Miller chlorinat ion process followed by Elect ro- refining t o refine im port ed dor bullion, m ainly from East Afr ica, t o 99.99% purit y. The product is t hen alloyed down t o 99.90% and m anufact ured int o 10- t ola bars for t he local invest m ent m arket . The first At om ij et was com m issioned in Sept em ber 2002 as part of t he Mint ek supplied Minat aur gold refinery at Agenor in Algeria.

The At om ij et s were developed as cost effect ive alt ernat ives to convent ional at om isers for preparing sm all bat ches ( up t o 50 kg) of finely divided gold and gold alloys for leaching and specialized purposes. Two or t hree high- pressure wat er j et s im pact on a st ream of m olt en m et al, convert ing it t o a fine powder. The unit s are supplied w it h a cust om ized induct ion m elt head, and each pour is aut om at ically cont rolled for consist ent result s. Owing t o t he use of sm all high- pressure wat er nozzles, t he am ount of wat er t hat accum ulat es during a pour is lim it ed.

m ore t han a 30- fold increase in leaching t hroughput . The At om ij et , originally developed t o pre- condit ion gold for chloride leaching in Mint eks Minat aur gold- refining process, has proved t o be t he t echnology of choice for applicat ions upst ream for any gold leaching circuit , what ever t he leaching m et hod em ployed. The t echnology could also be used downst ream t he refining of st ep, where a fine part icle size of t he At om ij et product would enable highprecision weighing of t he feed t o bar product ion. At om ij e t - S The At om ij et - S will generally convert m olt en gold and gold- alloys t o par t iculat e sizes ( d50s) of less t han 100m . The At om ij et - S is t herefore aim ed at m uch sm aller part iculat es, ranging from d50s of 15 m up t o 100 m in size. Successful developm ent work was recent ly com plet ed on som e value- adding downst ream product s and showed prom ising result s. Bot h t he At om ij et and At om ij et - S are developed and const ruct ed according t o t he highest st andards at t he Randburg workshops.

The At om ij et w ill generally convert m olt en gold m et al at a t em perat ure of 1300 C t o gold part icles of d50 less t han 300 Pm in size and part icles of d95 less t han 600 Pm in size. Each unit is cust om designed for a bat ch operat ion of 10- 50 kg depending on t he pouring cup- size t hat t he client wishes t o use. Repet it ive pours can be done im m ediat ely as t here is no re- circulat ion of wat er. The At om ij et leaching. product size is ideal for

At om ized gold from t he At om ij et are leached com plet ely in about 7 m inut es, com pared wit h 9 hours for 50 kg of m at erial prepared by convent ional m et hods, which was em ployed previously. This represent s

Ch e ck w e igh e r a n d m a r k in g pr e ss

sect ion, where t hey are weighed and sort ed int o t hree cat egories: on- weight ( 116.64 - 116.65 g) over- weight ( > 116.65 g) under- weight ( < 116.64 g) Aft er weighing, t he bars are placed in t hree st ream s on t he discharge conveyor. The bars are t ransport ed t hrough t he syst em by m eans of pneum at ic cylinders and grippers. A Program m able Logic Cont roller ( PLC) int erfacing wit h process int erlocks ensures sm oot h and t rouble- free operat ion. Pr oduct ha ndling The on- weight bars can be shr ink- wrapped for final packaging. The over- weight bars can be furt her processed t hrough m et al rem oval using a de- burring t ool. The underweight bars can be re- m elt ed and processed t hrough t he Granulat or for recycle. Thr oughput The unit can handle 200 t en- t ola bars per hour.

The PLC- cont rolled check weigher and m arking press is designed t o aut om at ically weigh and sort t en- t ola gold bars t o accuracy wit hin 10 m g. Ope r a t ing pr inciple The bars are loaded ont o a conveyor belt , which feeds t hem t o t he m arking press where t hey are st am ped wit h an insignia. The press is pneum at ically act uat ed, but t he m arking act ion is hydraulic. The bars are t hen t ransferred t o t he check weighing

Cust om isa t ion Alt hough t he check weigher and m arking press has been designed prim arily t o process t en- t ola ( 3.746 ounce) bars, it can be ret ooled t o handle bars up t o 1000 g.

Gr a n ule Ca st e r

include powder, granules, or bars. The gold is m elt ed by induct ion heat ing in a cust om m elt - head sit uat ed on t op of t he Granulat or t ank. A pneum at ically operat ed plunger is act ivat ed t o discharge t he st ream of m olt en gold int o t he Granulat or t ank, where it is granulat ed by a single low- pressure wat er j et . The granulat ed gold and wat er are ret ained in t he Granulat or t ank unt il t hey are separat ed in t he drain pot and t he granulat ed product rem oved. The t ypical processing t im e ( m elt ing and cast ing) for a 50 kg bat ch of gold is bet ween about 30 and 40 m inut es, depending on t he nat ure of t he feed m at erial. Pr oduct cha r a ct e r ist ics The t ypical size of t he product of t he Granulat or is on average 3 m m in diam et er, wit h a w ide size range from less t han 300m t o as large as 5 m m . Ut ilit y r e quir e m e nt s Power at 380 V and 240 V is required. The invert er is rat ed at 380 V 50 kW, and requires a wat er flow rat e of 25 l/ m in from a cooling t ower for cooling t he induct ion coils. Com pressed air at 500 kPa is required, t oget her wit h nit rogen at 100 kPa for t he crucible. De- ionized wat er for filling t he granulat or t ank is required.

The Granulat or is used for producing gold granules from a charge of m olt en gold by pouring t he gold int o a j et st ream of wat er in a wat er t ank. A wide spread of part icle sizes is obt ained, w it h an average granule size of 3 m m or sm aller. The granules are screened int o a fine and a coarse size fract ion for feeding t o t he Bat ch Weigher. Ope r a t ing pr inciple The unit is designed t o m elt and t o granulat e a gold charge of 12.5 kg or 50 kg, depending on t he crucible size. The feed t o t he m elt ing crucible will t ypically consist of dried precipit at ed gold ( sponge) or rej ect t en- t ola bars. Ot her form s of feed m ay

Vibr a t or y Fe e de r D r ye r

The vibrat ory feeder is designed t o dry gold granules from t he Granule Cast er under infrared light s, and t o screen t he granules int o t wo size fract ions. The feed m at erial for t he unit is wet granulat ed gold. The unit is designed t o dry 50kg bat ches of granules, and t o screen t he dried granules int o size fract ions of great er t han 300Pm and sm aller t hat 300Pm . Ope r a t ing pr inciple The vibrat ory feeder has a baffle plat e at t he inlet of t he v ibrat or, which dist ribut es t he gold granules evenly over t he t ray of t he vibrat ory feeder. The speed of t he vibrat or can be fine adj ust ed m anually. The wat er is vaporized from t he granulat ed gold by six 200 W infrared light sit uat ed over t he t ray. A 300Pm screen at t he discharge end of t he t ray separat es t he t wo size fract ions. Ut ilit y r e quir e m e nt s Power supply 220 V AC.

Ba t ch w e ighe r

fed via t he dribble feeder t o obt ain t he correct final m ass. The t arget set point is ent ered int o t he cont roller via a keypad. The syst em incorporat es in- flight com pensat ion, as well as aut o- t are of t he cont ainer t hat t he product is weighed int o. Thr oughput The unit can handle one bat ch of up t o 120g approxim at ely every 16 seconds. This t im e will increase as t he t arget m ass increases. Cust om isa t ion The Bat ch Weigher can be cust om ized t o weigh up t o 1000 g, and can also incorporat e an indexing unit t o feed product aut om at ically int o a m ult i- cavit y crucible. An opt ional ext ra is available for ent ering set point s via a SCADA syst em , and t o log t he weight deviat ion from set - point for record keeping. Ut ilit ie s r e quir e d

The m icroprocessor- cont rolled bat ch weigher is designed t o aut om at ically weigh part iculat e gold or any ot her high- value product t o an accuracy of 10 m g. I t is t ypically used t o weigh t he product from t he granulat or for product ion of t en- t ola bars. Ope r a t ing pr inciple The weigher has separat e hoppers for coarse and fine m at erial, which are fed via separat e feeders. The unit is program m ed t o feed t he coarse fract ion at a high feed rat e unt il 90 per cent of t he t arget m ass is reached, t hen at a reduced rat e up t o 99 per cent of t arget . The fine fract ion is t hen

Power supply 220 V AC Com pressed air.