Exploring Gold Extraction Chemicals: Innovations Beyond Cyanide

Well now, if you want to know how they get that shiny gold outta them rocks, let me tell ya, it ain’t no simple thing. They use chemicals, and one of the main ones is called cyanide. Yes, cyanide, that stuff that sounds a bit dangerous. But don’t go worryin’, it’s just part of the process. It’s been around since the 1970s and has been the main way they get the gold outta the ground. They mix up cyanide with water and then use it to leach the gold from the ore. They got to get it just right, ya see, so the cyanide solution can range from 100 parts per million (ppm) to 500 ppm, that’s about 0.01% to 0.05%. It’s like adding a little bit of salt to a big pot of stew – too much and it’ll ruin the whole thing, too little and it won’t work.

The way this whole thing works is pretty simple, even if it sounds complicated. The process they use is called cyanidation, or cyanide leaching. Now, I ain’t no chemist, but what they do is mix sodium cyanide with water, and that helps break down the gold from the rest of the rocks. They let it sit there for a while, and then they got this solution with gold all mixed in. After that, they get the gold out by some other methods and then go on to purify it.

So, how much gold do they actually get, ya ask? Well, it’s a lot! In the whole world, they mine about 3,600 tons of gold every year, and then another 300 tons comes from recycling old gold. But it ain’t like you’re gonna find gold just sittin’ on the ground. Most of it’s locked up in these rocks, and they have to use chemicals like cyanide to get it out. Now, don’t go thinking that gold is just sittin’ there in big chunks. Nope, it’s usually found in little tiny bits, often around 10 parts per million, which means it’s a pretty small amount in them rocks.

But don’t get it twisted, cyanide ain’t the only chemical they use. There are other chemicals they try too, to see if they can do the job better. Over the past few decades, folks have been looking for ways to get gold out without using cyanide. Some say cyanide’s too dangerous, but it works, and it’s still the most used method. Some of the other chemicals they’ve tried ain’t quite as good as cyanide, but they’re workin’ on it.

The thing about cyanide is, it’s a family of chemicals made up of carbon and nitrogen. It sounds all fancy, but really, it’s just a combination of two elements. They use this chemical because it bonds well with the gold, and that helps it break loose from the ore. But, like I said, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. The whole process has to be just right, or the gold won’t come out clean, and the cyanide could cause problems. There’s a lot that goes into making sure the gold’s extracted properly and safely.

Now, when they’re using cyanide, they got to be real careful. It’s not like throwin’ some dirt on the fire and callin’ it a day. They got to make sure the concentration of the cyanide is right, the temperature’s right, and the oxygen levels are just so. Otherwise, you won’t get much gold, and you might end up with a whole lotta mess instead. And they don’t just leave it for a little bit; they let it sit for a long time, sometimes hours, sometimes days, to make sure it pulls all the gold out of them rocks.

But here’s the thing – getting gold out ain’t just about chemicals. You gotta think about the type of ore too. Some ores have gold that’s easy to get to, while others, well, they’re a lot harder to work with. Sometimes the gold’s mixed with silver, and that makes things even trickier. But with the right chemicals and the right process, they can get it out and make it into something shiny and valuable.

And then once they’ve got the gold, they’ve got to purify it. They call that part “refining,” and it’s all about getting the gold up to a standard that’s good for selling and trading. You can’t just have any old piece of gold – it’s gotta be pure. They use different methods to get rid of the silver and other metals, so you’re left with the good stuff.

Now, gold mining might sound like an old-timey thing, but it’s still goin’ on today. Sure, the tools and methods have changed, but the basics haven’t. They still use chemicals like cyanide to extract the gold, and they’re still workin’ on ways to do it even better. And who knows, maybe one day they’ll figure out a way to get gold without any chemicals at all. But for now, cyanide’s still the go-to chemical for gettin’ the job done.

So, next time you see a shiny piece of gold, remember – it didn’t just come from the ground all pretty and clean. It went through a whole process, with chemicals and a lot of hard work, to make it into the gold we know and love. And while there’s still a lot to learn about how to get the gold out more safely and efficiently, for now, cyanide is the key to it all.

Tags：[gold extraction, cyanide leaching, cyanide process, gold mining chemicals, refining gold, alternative lixiviants, gold recovery, gold refining]