A tale of Fairmined gold, part V
Gold dust flowing from the shaking table is recovered and stored while the rest of the watery solution, that still holds microscopic particles of gold, is taken to the flotation and cyanidation stage.
This watery solution goes into a flotation process first where it is further processed, optimized to be then taken to a separate tank and mixed with cyanide in order to dissolve any particles of gold remaining in the solution.
Both these stages aim to maximize the recovery of all the gold that Mother Nature might offer within the original ore.
Cyanide acts as a sort of solvent of gold, that way the mine can extract until the very last quantities of gold by leaching the gold into a water-soluble solution. When the solution is saturated enough with gold, it will be further processed with zinc to precipitate, or bond together, the gold content into a "button".
Laboratory in the Chede mine where they smelt the gold into a dore bar, that is then sent to the refiner for further purification. Photo: © Desirée Binternagel, Fairever.
This button(s) can be then treated, smelted in a heating furnace and molten and poured into a bar that might end up containing 70-90% gold.
This bar is taken to the refiner, in order to achieve 99.999% pure gold, the final stage in this journey, stay tuned for the next post.
The Fairmined standard contains strict criteria for the management and control of the environmental impact in each stage of the whole process, including phases of liquid discharges and solid and gaseous waste. It also has procedures for mining personnel to adhere to technical and operational protocols to ensure safety.
Top Photo: © Shelby Nico Bryant
