Gold prices soared, and the gold ore dressing technology industry ushered in opportunities

In recent years, the global economic uncertainty has increased, especially factors such as geopolitical risks and inflationary pressures, which have led to a sharp increase in the demand for gold as a safe-haven asset. At the same time, changes in the Federal Reserve's monetary policy have also had an important impact on gold prices. With the continued rise in gold prices, the gold ore dressing technology industry has ushered in new development opportunities.

As high-quality ore resources are gradually exhausted, mining companies are facing increasing challenges. In order to cope with this problem, the advancement of gold dressing technology is particularly important. By adopting advanced beneficiation methods, the recovery rate of useful components in the ore can be effectively improved, production costs can be reduced, and economic benefits can be improved. At present, the common gold ore beneficiation technologies mainly include gravity separation, flotation, cyanide leaching, biological oxidation and amalgamation.

Gold ore gravity separation technology

Gravity separation of gold is a technology that separates based on the difference in specific gravity between minerals. It is mostly suitable for processing coarse-grained ores in gold ore beneficiation plants. This method is simple to operate and low in cost, but it is not ideal for beneficiation of fine-grained gold ores. Commonly used gravity separation equipment includes jigs, shaking tables and spiral chutes. By properly configuring these equipment, better separation effects can be achieved.

Gold ore flotation technology

Floating gold relies on the difference in the surface properties of minerals. By adding reagents to improve the surface properties of minerals, it can complete the separation of minerals. This method is suitable for processing fine-grained gold ores and has a high beneficiation efficiency. During the flotation process, appropriate collectors, frothers and regulators need to be added to improve the recovery rate of target minerals. Commonly used flotation equipment includes mechanical agitation flotation machines and aerated flotation machines.

Gold ore cyanide leaching technology

Cyanide leaching gold extraction uses cyanide solution to dissolve gold and then recover gold by adsorption or other means. This method is suitable for ores with low gold content and can achieve a higher recovery rate. However, due to the highly toxic nature of cyanide, strict protective measures must be taken to prevent environmental pollution accidents. In recent years, some environmentally friendly leaching agents that replace cyanide have also begun to be used.

Gold ore bio-oxidation technology

Bio-oxidation gold extraction uses microorganisms to decompose sulfide inclusions to release the gold in them, and then uses traditional chemical methods to extract gold. This method has the advantages of environmental protection and low cost, but it still faces some technical difficulties in practical applications, such as strain selection and reaction condition control. In the future, with the development of biotechnology, bio-oxidation is expected to become one of the mainstream mineral processing processes.

Gold ore amalgam technology

The amalgam method uses the characteristics of mercury and gold combined into amalgam to extract gold. Although this method is easy to operate, it has been gradually eliminated due to serious mercury pollution problems. At present, many countries and regions have banned the use of amalgam for gold ore dressing.

In addition to the above methods, some new technologies have been born, such as resin technology, non-cyanide leaching technology, high-pressure oxidation technology, ion exchange resin technology, electrochemical leaching technology, ultrasonic assisted leaching technology, microwave heating pretreatment technology, etc. Although new technologies are constantly innovating, some technologies have not yet matured and are still in the experimental stage or initial maturity stage in gold ore dressing.

In terms of innovative design of gold ore dressing technology, Xinhai Mining has also conducted a number of studies and introduced them into actual cases. In actual production, the type and properties of each gold ore are different, and the beneficiation technology used must also be "different for each stone". Therefore, Xinhai will conduct targeted ore analysis for different types of gold ores, and often needs to consider the combined use of several beneficiation methods. At present, Xinhai has 29 innovative gold ore beneficiation technologies, some of which are applied to Xinhai gold beneficiation projects, such as gold oxide primary mixed ore gravity separation + flash flotation process, which is applied in an overseas project with a recovery rate of 82%. Through this process design, Xinhai finally achieved a recovery rate of 90% for its beneficiation plant.