Our Technologies to Treat Cyanide/SART

Gold recovery can become uneconomical when cyanide-soluble base metals such as copper and zinc are present in gold ore deposits. These metals form weak acid dissociable (WAD) complexes with the cyanide and preferentially competes for cyanide. The result is high cyanide consumption, poor gold doré purity and high concentrations of copper-cyanide complexes in tailings that require costly destruction.

SART

We offer the SART process to remove the metallurgical interference of cyanide-soluble metals and to efficiently recover and recycle cyanide in gold processing.

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SART (sulphidication-acidification-recycling-thickening) breaks the base metal bond from the WAD complex and precipitates the metal as a commercial grade concentrate. The cyanide is regenerated as free cyanide and recycled to the gold extraction circuit. We have designed and constructed full-scale plants, provided process review and commissioning for a plant under construction, and carried out flowsheet development and testing programs for SART.

Case Studies

Mastra

BQE Water worked with the mine owner to design, construct and commission a SART plant in a tight nine month schedule to allow the gold mine to process its ore and avoid stockpiling high-grade ore with copper mineralization.

Maricunga

With the SART plant design already underway, BQE Water was contracted by the mine owner to provide process review and commissioning services for a SART plant at an open pit gold mine operation with high copper concentrations in the heap leach.