Development of the Processing Technology of a Gold-Containing Sulfide Concentrate

Smelting of a flotation gold-containing concentrate with the use of a copper collector and slag of the four-component system SiO(2)-FeO-Na(2)O-CaO is studied. Optimum parameters are determined for the preliminary roasting of the concentrate (t = 750-800 degrees C, tau = 45-60 min) and its smelting (t = 1200-1250 degrees C, tau = 50-60 min, time of metal-slag stratification is 45 min, concentrate-to-carbon ratio is 10 : 1). It is shown that as the last parameter decreases (below 10 : 1), reduction of hematite and magnetite to metal iron starts with the subsequent transfer of iron into copper. For a fourfold recycling of the copper collector, the extraction of gold was 99.5% and that of silver was 77.7%.