Waste treatment system at Gold Refinery

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Chasing .25% has the potential to cost more than the values recovered. “Spending dollars to chase dimes” is a saying we use fairly often to describe those situations.
28/1000 is 2.8 % if I calculated it correctly. If true, that is very concerning number. At least as I see it - obtaining solid hydroxide cake with more than 2% gold. Maybe the readout of the XRF isn´t correct.
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The 28/1000 figure was given by Gold Refinery while looking for gold in hydroxides, and yes it is high but with an XRF on a soggy powder sample confidence in the result is low.

The .25% Shark was talking about is the general lot accountability. When a lot is processed if the actual gold recovered is within 99.75% of the expected gold by assay, the rest is deemed recoverable from the silver chlorides or the waste. Occasionally a lot will be short in excess of the .25% and it warrants chasing it. I remember one lot from back in the fire assay days where a large portion was green gold so the silver was high. At the end of the day when the accountant came out of his box and announced the “loss” we simply screened the chlorides and found it. Case closed. We never mixed the chlorides into the bulk chlorides until we knew it was within accountability limits. Same for spent solutions. Gold Refinery has enough tanks to hold solutions and chlorides separate until the results of the lot are announced. Usually daily if not the next morning.
 
The 28/1000 figure was given by Gold Refinery while looking for gold in hydroxides, and yes it is high but with an XRF on a soggy powder sample confidence in the result is low.
I tested a completely dry sample. I also combined a few sample.
 
I may have misunderstood it. I was looking back to the post where he said:
After the end of each operation, if we reach 99.75 incoming gold, we can hope that some gold is in the mother solution and also some gold is trapped in the silver chloride.

It is probably wise to recover silver chloride every two weeks, but it is not possible to keep the mother solution for more than 4 or 5 days.


So what to do with these conditions?

We are currently using urea temporarily, so after seeing the metal hydroxide in, it should be transferred to the filter press immediately.right?

Finally, There we have green sludge (as shown).
What should we do to recover the precious metals of these this Hydroxides ?
(Shall we give it to the recycling workshops we go to every month with Smelting method?)
2 or 3% at the volume he is working with would be another story.
 
I may have misunderstood it. I was looking back to the post where he said:

2 or 3% at the volume he is working with would be another story.

That much on a large lot and i'm pumping the brakes! Especially on some karat gold.
 
You have more process tanks than you need actually, never a bad thing. It would be interesting to hear what the manufacturer suggests you do with those tanks.
Now you recommend the best route.
You will probably skip some tanks.
We can skip. Or use them for more time to Contact with copper.
I have labeled your drawing and posted it here and I will explain how I would proceed.
C62B56F2-E81E-4416-87D6-E53D748A5136.jpeg

The smaller room with the filter press is what I consider your waste treatment room. If you do everything correctly, the liquids and solids generated in the waste treatment room should not have payable values other than copper if you can find a buyer.

The room with the tumbler plant is the acid room. This is where the gold alloys are dissolved and recovered, the silver chlorides are separated and retained, and any cemented values are accumulated.

Start by placing the scrap to be refined in the tumbler. It should be in shot form and preferably melted as a single lot so it all is consistently mixed and homogeneous. You know the weight, you know the assay, so you can calculate the expected yield. If at all possible keep the Silver assay under 9% or you will begin to experience more gold retained in your insoluble chlorides.

Add the Hydrochloric Acid according to the spreadsheet and then add 1/3 of the calculated Nitric Acid. As the reaction diminishes, add the second third of nitric, followed by the balance of the nitric as the reaction allows. The peroxide is an option, it will work well without it.

When the reaction is quieted down (ideally overnight) add ice or cold water to cool the acid and limit the silver chloride solubility. Filter the cold acid through your filter (if you only have the narrow paper, use 2 sheets at 90º to each other so the edges of the sheet do not expose the fabric filter support). Use a strainer as I described earlier to collect any insolubles where they are easy to rinse clean and quantify. filter all of the acid through the funnel and discharge into the gold precipitation tank.
304BB5DC-8CC7-4B7D-9F2E-9F40D2C68F2E.jpeg
rinse the tumbler well to get all of the remaining acid liquid film into the filter. Rinse the filter until a drop of stannous chloride placed on a sample of the paper shows no gold remains. (There will always be some indication of gold but keep it to a minimum and know the papers are saved and eventually processed for values.). Remove the filter papers and rinse the chlorides into a bucket of water for accumulation and processing later. Now rinse under the filter plate so all of the gold retaining acid has passed into the gold precipitation tank.

Add urea to the tank without the mixer running. If you add too much urea and have a mixer running it may foam over so go easy with the urea. Again urea isn't my first choice but without heat and with cold acid there is no option for you. Slowly add urea prills, you will see it fizz and foam up so go easy, when it settles add some more until the emission of gas subsides. At the end, you will see little reaction and the prills of urea, added just a few at a time will float to the surface before dissolving and that is indication the addition is complete. Stir the liquid to make sure it will not foam up.

You now have a solution that has been "de-NOxed" and is ready for precipitation. You will be using sodium metabisulfite to drop the gold. Start the stirring mixer and sprinkle the metabisulfite on the surface, it will darken as gold drops and may blow a little red until any remaining free nitric is consumed. Continue to add metabisulfite to the well mixing solution slowly allowing it to react before adding more. From time to time dip in a glass rod and test to be sure there is still gold in solution until you are experienced enough to notice the color shift from bright green to a dull green. When all of the gold is dropped and tested to confirm, shut the mixer and stir the mud to allow any pregnant acid under the mud to react. Agitate and test again. Now it is time to filter the acid into the funnel.

If you notice on the gold precipitation tank, there are 2 valves visible.
Screen Shot 2022-06-01 at 8.51.51 PM.png
the larger shut off is made to drain the majority of the liquid from the tank into the filter. I prefer to drain the liquid first as it contains no gold and should run quickly through the filter. No sense in filling the filter with gold sponge and pulling all of the base metal laden acid through it. The second smaller valve should drain all the way to the bottom but it doesn't look like it does. Is there a bottom drain to completely drain all of the solids into the filter through? I hope there is or that is something you will be mentioning to the manufacturer as well. You need to allow all of the precipitated solids into the filter (which is why a large diameter bottom hole is hopefully available) then you can wash the gold in the filter as the rinse is pulled through the filter.

Allow the filter to suck the well rinsed gold sponge dry. Solution that was not rinsed clear of the sponge and is allowed to dry on the sponge is a large contributor to impurity.

The liquid from this process, which now shows no indication of gold on your stannous chloride, is pumped into the center tank. This tank should be set up to hang slabs of copper metal which are aerated to keep the solution moving. Look at the link FrugalRefiner sent you about cementing with air to agitate. The air needs to bathe the bar to dislodge any displaced values and expose more clean copper. This tank is used to hold solution for cementation for as long as you can hold it before needing the space for more acid. If you test it and it does not indicate any values, it can be pumped to the waste treatment room. If it still indicates values it can be pumped to the next cylindrical tank where you can add atomized copper powder sparingly and with a mixer (preferably a blade). When this tank is full and testing negative it can also be pumped to the waste treatment room. Any discharge line from either of the copper cementation tanks should be passed through a cylindrical canister filter to catch any fines.

The liquid leaving these tanks should be through the side wall outlet of the tanks and always leaving liquid and settled solids on the bottom. They are collected periodically for processing and that is the only time you will need a filter under the tank to collect all of the values for processing. And processing 20 kg a day the frequency of running the solids cemented will likely be quarterly. Time and experience will determine that.

By filtering properly you should have trapped all of the silver chlorides and collected them on the filter. You should have any larger chunks of undissolved karat sitting on the pre filter screen to easily collect and quantify. you should have all of your filtered and precipitated and rinsed gold on the filter and de-watered enough to melt it, and the solution should be sitting in a tank with copper slabs. Nothing leaving this room if you followed these procedures will be precious metals.

Next post, waste treatment room.
 
Waste treatment.

As I said earlier there should be no payable precious metals in your waste stream at this point.

You have 4 tanks here but only really need 1.

024874DA-3FB6-4192-9BAD-33C5BC1E659B.jpeg

Tank 1 has a blade so it could be used for copper cementation with the powder but I do not believe the drains will drain these tanks completely so for cemented liquids that can contain values I think you are better off with the round tanks. Let's hope they have a large bottom drain. Getting cemented values out of this tank may be difficult.

Really, the only tank you need here is the tank you add the waste acid into and raise the pH with caustic to form the hydroxides. Everything else is extra. Drums of liquid caustic do get heavy and freeze up at 14.4 ºC. For that reason lots of users prefer to purchase sodium hydroxide as a flake and mix it with water in their facility where it won't freeze up as easily. It is not a pleasant job mixing caustic flake and paddling it in a drum to dissolve it but tank #1 with a mechanical mixer can make easy work of it for you. So if it were me, I'd be mixing my own liquid caustic in tank #1. 024874DA-3FB6-4192-9BAD-33C5BC1E659B.jpeg
Once it is mixed, you can feed it directly into the pH dosing pump to add to the third tank which has the mixer and is where the pH is raised.

The second tank has a bubbler to keep it mixing and it can serve as a holding tank to hold waste before you process it in tank #3.

Tank #4 doesn't have many details about mixing or draining so I am not sure what you want to use it for.

Once the waste is raised to the desired pH, it can be pumped through the filter press. I prefer to cycle from the hydroxide tank #3 through the press and back to tank #3 until the discharge runs clear, then divert some valves to pump it out, either to sewer (not likely) or to a holding tank (#4?) where the solution can be tested to see if it meets discharge standards or to lower the pH a bit so it isn't so corrosive before discharge. That is likely what tank #4 is there for.

The filter press will fill up and slow considerably until it stops flowing because it is full of hydroxide cakes. Usually compressed air is connected to an inlet on the press to dry the cakes with airflow so they drop easier. Releasing the pressure will drop the cakes from the filter press you will be left with something like this;

06B7E8E9-BAF0-4A1C-A834-CFB9010D244E.jpeg
These hydroxides contain a high % of Copper but (at least in the US) it may be hard to find someone to buy them without them being dried and screened.
 
You can see all the cylindrical tanks with filters and waste water stations in the two photos below.

Now you recommend the best route.
You will probably skip some tanks.
We can skip. Or use them for more time to Contact with copper.
is this equipment made in Turkey? Usually Turkish refineries prefer to drop gold with AL rather than Cu. Just curious..
 
Refiners who treat their waste acids as you do often incinerate, crush and sift the hydroxides and ship them to copper smelters. A 55 gallon drum of prepared hydroxides weighs around 500 pounds and refiners who do not cement their wastes (foolish but yes there are a few) typically will get about 2 ounces of Gold out of a drum. That works out to 0.00027% gold. A bit different than 2.8%

The only way I can see that happening is if you did not add sufficient precipitant to a lot and, did not test with stannous, and did not drop all of the metals with aluminum. That material was treated with caustic and the gold you found, if the XRF can be trusted, ended up in the hydroxides.

This will not happen when you follow the steps we have outlined.

Edited. Changed the % gold figure which was entered on an iPhone and added too many zeros.
 
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A 55 gallon drum of prepared hydroxides weighs around 500 pounds and refiners who do not cement their wastes (foolish but yes there are a few) typically will get about 2 ounces of Gold out of a drum. That works out to 0.00027% gold. A bit different than 2.8%
1920 gr of hydroxide was obtained from refin 5300 g of scrap.
According to your calculations, 500 pounds of hydroxide in a 55 gallon drum is obtained approximately after refining 560 kg of scrap, which is two months of operation.
You said that in this volume you get almost two ounces Gold, so the percentage is 62/226000 = 0.00027 equal to 0.027 %.

The only way I can see that happening is if you did not add sufficient precipitant to a lot and, did not test with stannous, and did not drop all of the metals with aluminum. That material was treated with caustic and the gold you found, if the XRF can be trusted, ended up in the hydroxides.
We did not do the stannous test in the first operation, nor did we add a small amount of aluminum to the cement, but I guess because of the use of ammonia to wash the gold powder then add it to the mother solution, all the precipitated metals dissolved again and reached to the hydroxide station.
Of course, the manufacturer was present and he did it, Unfortunately.
 
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It would be interesting to hear what the manufacturer suggests you do with those tanks.
The second cylindrical tank you mentioned for cementing with copper sheet, the manufacturer recommended aluminum sheet.

The third tank you mentioned was cemented with copper powder, the manufacturer recommended again with aluminum sheet.

The first waste water station you mentioned Re-cementing with copper powder, the manufacturer recommended aluminum.
The second station you do not consider necessary , the manufacturer advised to add iron.
 
the liquids and solids generated in the waste treatment room should not have payable values other than copper if you can find a buyer.
If
1)enough precipitate is added,
2)the stannous test is done correctly,
3)the cementing is done in several stages,
4)the filters are modified.
do you hope that hydroxides will contain more copper ???

Can not platinum in hydroxides be extracted ???
 
If
1)enough precipitate is added,
2)the stannous test is done correctly,
3)the cementing is done in several stages,
4)the filters are modified.
do you hope that hydroxides will contain more copper ???

Can not platinum in hydroxides be extracted ???
The reason we recommend Copper is that no base metal will cement out.
Only PMs like Gold, Silver, Palladium, Platinum and so forth, with one exception... Mercury.
Mercury on the other hand is highly unlikely to find in scrap.

Additionally even if it was, it would still be in the cement from Aluminum, including Iron, Zinc, Copper, Tin or what ever else was in the scrap.
Aluminum will for all practical purposes give no separation of values vs no values.
 
I must say, you explain very well. clear , with details and step by step. Thanks
Add the Hydrochloric Acid according to the spreadsheet and then add 1/3 of the calculated Nitric Acid. As the reaction diminishes, add the second third of nitric, followed by the balance of the nitric as the reaction allows. The peroxide is an option, it will work well without it.
You mean to add the final 1/3 of nitric acid to see the reaction. To get the required amount, no more , right?
You do not think it necessary to help the AR react with peroxide, right ???

if you only have the narrow paper, use 2 sheets at 90º to each other so the edges of the sheet do not expose the fabric filter support)
Is placing two paper filters 90 degrees relative to each other a good way? Isn't it better to make the ring that holds the paper filter bigger?
Add urea to the tank without the mixer running. If you add too much urea and have a mixer running it may foam over so go easy with the urea. Again urea isn't my first choice but without heat and with cold acid there is no option for you. Slowly add urea prills, you will see it fizz and foam up so go easy, when it settles add some more until the emission of gas subsides. At the end, you will see little reaction and the prills of urea, added just a few at a time will float to the surface before dissolving and that is indication the addition is complete. Stir the liquid to make sure it will not foam up.
Excellent explanation
Start the stirring mixer and sprinkle the metabisulfite on the surface
The gold tank does not have a mixer Now. we have a tube with air injection at the end. Most likely to do mixing with the pipe will need to open the tank, SO2 gas will bother. What do we really do?

Continue to add metabisulfite to the well mixing solution slowly allowing it to react before adding more
Is it better to add powder sulfite or dissolve it in water?
Is there a bottom drain to completely drain all of the solids into the filter through? I hope there is or that is something you will be mentioning to the manufacturer as well.
The bottom of the tanks is sloping towards a large valve that opens from the bottom of the tank. The same valve that you recommended to be filled from the inside with a solid pvc to prevent the gold powder from being trapped.

The air needs to bathe the bar to dislodge any displaced values and expose more clean copper.
Is it enough if I put a few copper plates in the tank and put an air injection tube into the solution to move the solution?

Any discharge line from either of the copper cementation tanks should be passed through a cylindrical canister filter to catch any fines.
Like the cylindrical filter that came after the silver chloride filter and you did not like it. Is that right?
The liquid leaving these tanks should be through the side wall outlet of the tanks and always leaving liquid and settled solids on the bottom. They are collected periodically for processing and that is the only time you will need a filter under the tank to collect all of the values for processing. And processing 20 kg a day the frequency of running the solids cemented will likely be quarterly. Time and experience will determine that.
We have a valve at 18 cm top of the bottom of the cylindrical tanks (as shown), as well as a valve at 7 cm top the bottom.
When the solution comes in contact with the copper plate and the copper powder, do the value particles settle or stick to the copper plate?
 
but I do not believe the drains will drain these tanks completely so for cemented liquids that can contain values I think you are better off with the round tanks. Let's hope they have a large bottom drain
All tanks have a cylinder valve from the bottom of the tank. The first and second waste water stations also have a drain valve from the bottom of the tank.
It is not a pleasant job mixing caustic flake and paddling it in a drum to dissolve it but tank #1 with a mechanical mixer can make easy work of it for you. So if it were me, I'd be mixing my own liquid caustic in tank #1.
We first add the flaky caustic to the third tank as a solid slowly, when the pH is about 5, the dosing pump pumps the caustic dissolved in water from a bucket until the pH reaches 8.
Is it right?
I prefer to cycle from the hydroxide tank #3 through the press and back to tank #3 until the discharge runs clear, then divert some valves to pump it out,
Do you mean that the solution passes through the press filter twice?
The filter press will fill up and slow considerably until it stops flowing because it is full of hydroxide cakes
When the water drains from the press filter, is it time to drain? What is the barometer that shows the pressure of the hydraulic jack for?
 
Is it enough if I put a few copper plates in the tank and put an air injection tube into the solution to move the solution?
The air needs to knock the cemented metal off the copper sheet so it needs to physically contact the hanging copper, otherwise it will blind itself to further cementation. D0217AAD-D0FF-4A13-931A-CE1738365567.jpeg
The air is inside the white tube with the copper slab, if you don’t move enough solution and cause enough current to break off the cemented metal that is adherent to the slab it will stop reacting.

There is plenty of good information on the forum, some of which you have been told on this thread, to give you enough details to do this properly.
 
We first add the flaky caustic to the third tank as a solid slowly, when the pH is about 5, the dosing pump pumps the caustic dissolved in water from a bucket until the pH reaches 8.
Is it right?
That is the hard way if you have a tank that can mix it for you. You have a pH meter but it is not connected to a dosing pump?
Do you mean that the solution passes through the press filter twice?
I mean you want the liquid to flow clear before it is discharged. Often when you empty a press, the first solution through is not clear. By recirculating until it is clear you assure you are pumping out clear liquid. So, yes some solution passes through the pump twice.
 
What is the barometer that shows the pressure of the hydraulic jack for?
Holy 💩 didn’t the salesman show you how to work the equipment?

A filter press has individual plates that are held together by a hydraulic press. When you drop the cakes from a full press you release the pressure and the hydraulic ram recedes allowing the plates to separate and the cakes to slip out. When you want to use the press again you pressurize the ram to push all of the plates tightly together. The barometer tells you what pressure you are exerting. When the press does not leak from between the plates when waste is pumped through, note the pressure and that is what you set it to each time.
 

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