To study the effect of impurities usually usully contained in fouled cyanide solutions on the rate of dissolution of gold, determination of the rate of dissolution of gold in potassium cyanide solutions of various concentrations were made.
(1) Potassium ethyl-zanthate (0.0002-0.008%) has a retarding effect on the dissolution of gold. This detrimental action is remarkable when zanthate ions exist in the cyanide solution. Zanthate, in the amount usually found in flotation circuits, does not precipitate gold in a pregnant cyanide solution.
(2) The addition of potassium sulphide (0.0005-0.03%) is also detrimental to the dissolution of gold, and gives a fatal result with the increase in its amount. The addition of lead acetate not only converts the soluble sulphide to a sulphide of lead, whch is relatively innocurous, but also affects the rate of dissolution of gold in a manner characteristic to lead acetate.
(3) Potassium ferrocyanide (0.002-0.2%) accelerates the dissolution of gold with an increasing amouut of it. The author conjectures that the fact is due to the substitution between gold and iron ions in cyanide solution, as iron is electronegative to gold, and to the local circuits consequently introdued on the surface of gold. This fact was confirmed by separate experiments using gold-iron cell and by discuccing the existence of iron on the gold surface.
(4) Potassium zincocyanide (0.002-0.2% Zn) has little effect on the rate of dissolution of gold. It alone does not dissolve gold, but dissolves gold yielding potassium cyanide by the addition of free alkali. The rate of dissolution of gold increases steadily up to the rate corresponding to 0.03 per cent KCN.
(5) The double cyanide of copper and potassium (0.002-0.1% Cu) has also no effect on the rate of dissolution of gold.
(6) Potassium thiocyanate (0.02-0.2%) eliminates the passive state which should appear at the beginning in the dissolution of gold in pure cyanide solutions. This effect seems to be due to the fact that this cyanate alone dissolve gold at a very slow rate and consequently increases alkalinity of the solution.
(7) Potassium sulphate (0.02-1.0%) also ellminates the passive state at the beginning. Tue author conjectures that the fact is concerned with the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide.
(8) Some experiments, in the case of simultaneous addition of several impurities were made. The impurities, were classified by their characteristic behaviours. The effect of lead and iron salts is most remarkable and the following roder of intensity of action is obtained: K
2S, Ca (OH)
2, K
2SO
4 and KCNS. Copper and zinc salts affect little the rate of dissolution of gold.
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