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    Determining Optimum Wet Milling and Leaching Parameters for Maximum Recovery of Gold
    (Research Publish Journals, 2017-12) Mguni, Nonhlanhla G.; Bhebhe, Siboniwe; Danha, Gwiranai; Tshuma, Joel; Hlabangana, N.
    Abstract: The comminution and leaching unit operations play a vital role in the extraction process of valuable minerals from ores. Historical research efforts have focused more on optimizing these two unit operations individually rather than as an entire integrated process. The approach employed in modern day research is now driven by the process intensification philosophy. Process intensification detects that developing an integrated approach to mineral processing systems and flow sheets leads to improved efficiency of the overall process and can help attain optimum recovery and a reduction in energy and material costs. In this article, we present laboratory scale batch grinding and leaching profiles of a mono-sized gold ore sample (-1700 + 850 μm). The sample was obtained from a run-of-mine (ROM) ore of one the leading gold processing plants in South Africa. Various combinations of grinding media fill level and ball size were investigated, showing that breakage is more pronounced for the larger ball sizes tested. We also found that using a higher media filling (J = 30%) and a larger media size (30 mm) consumed more energy with less gold recovered during a 24 hour leaching period, compared to when a smaller J of 15% and 20 mm media was used. Our results show that efficient application of energy is vital and maximum profit is a complex function of energy usage and particle size. Keywords: gold, Historical research, mineral processing, energy, material costs.