Direct Cupric Chloride Leaching of Gold from Refractory Sulfide Ore: Process Simulation and Life Cycle Assessment

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openAccess

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Volume Title

A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä

Date

2022-07-04

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Mcode

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Language

en

Pages

12

Series

Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review

Abstract

A simulation-based life cycle assessment was conducted to compare the impacts of different cyanide-free chloride processing routes for refractory ores to determine whether one-stage leaching of gold from the ores could be advantageous over chloride leaching after conventional pressure oxidation from an environmental perspective. It was shown that both leaching conditions and the refractoriness of the ore strongly affect the environmental impacts of the process. The global warming potential in the direct leaching route was determined to vary between 7.7–17.0 t CO2-eq for 1 kg gold/Au. Prerequisites for the sustainable application of the direct leaching process are suggested.

Description

Funding Information: The authors would like to thank the Emil Aaltonen Foundation for financially supporting the “Sustainable gold” project. The study was also supported by GoldTail (Grant No. 319691), funded by the Academy of Finland, and the Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion. This work was also supported by “RawMatTERS Finland Infrastructure” (RAMI) by the Academy of Finland. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

environmental impacts, halide leaching, non-cyanide lixiviants, process development, Sustainability

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Citation

Rinne, M, Elomaa, H, Seisko, S & Lundstrom, M 2022, ' Direct Cupric Chloride Leaching of Gold from Refractory Sulfide Ore: Process Simulation and Life Cycle Assessment ', Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review, vol. 43, no. 5, pp. 598–609 . https://doi.org/10.1080/08827508.2021.1910510