ELECTRORECOVERY OF GOLD AND SILVER FROM THIOSULPHATE SOLUTIONS

• Main Authors: LAPIDUS LAVINE, GRETCHEN TERRI, LARA VALENZUELA, CARLOS, BENAVIDES PÉREZ, RICARDO, ALONSO GÓMEZ, ALEJANDRO RAFAEL
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 16.10.2013
• Subjects: APPARATUS THEREFOR; CHEMISTRY; ELECTROFORMING; ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; METALLURGY; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS; PROCESSES FOR THE ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PRODUCTIONOF COATINGS; PROCESSES FOR THE ELECTROLYTIC PRODUCTION, RECOVERY ORREFINING OF METALS; PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS

The present invention is related to the mining industry and treatment of mineral and materials that contain gold and silver. Specifically, it is related to a process to recover gold and silver, from copper thiosulfate solutions with a autogenerated electrolysis process. The advantages of the present invention, relative to those of the state of the technique, reside in the increased velocity compared with cementation using copper, without employing electric current. Our process is characterized by operating in an electrochemical autogeneration cell, in which the anode and cathode are connected in short circuit and the anodic and cathodic compartments are separated by an ion exchange membrane. Additionally, using a copper anode and the stripped solution as the anolyte, the levels of soluble copper are maintained stable, conserving the leaching power of the thiosulfate solutions, whereby it is possible to recycle them back to the leaching stage.