Relationship between the natural characteristics of gold and treatment methods

The natural presentation of gold occupies largely the choice of one treatment process, favoring or impeding somewhat the usage of some of the physical or chemical properties that have already been mentioned. The natural characteristics of gold or the minerals they bear that are held in consideration due to their treatment are mainly their particle sizing and their associations with the gang minerals. The efficiency of the particle sizing methods is limited by the inferior particles in a 60 percent of MU. This dimension probably limits it more, modifying often times the form of the particles of gold that are to be recovered: grams, sequin, and filaments. On the other hand and with this limitation, flotation and cyanidation remain as the only available methods of treatment. Just as with all other types of mineral, flotation demands a pretty complete liberation of the element that is to be recovered. The grains will be therefore, a little bit better carried than the dimension of the gold pebbles, which is light, unless in the case where the gold is extremely fine, with flotation of the bearing minerals. In an equal dimension of gold particles, cyanidation in general requires less of a grinding than flotation, since it is not necessary the gold be freed completely but only turned accessible to the solution being utilized. In the grinding operations, another gold property intervenes: that is ductility. The bigger gold pebbles due to this ductility cannot be ground very easily and have more of a tendency of becoming squished and flattened after particles of gang has become incrusted, this inconvenience is resolved after a gravimetric analysis has been done about its mineral liberation. The nature of the association of gold with the minerals of the gang intervenes in the applicability of the treatment methods influencing notably over their mineral liberation. Gold, for example, can be included in the bearing minerals or in the fissures or the unions of the grains. The accessibility of cyanide of gold or its type of mineral liberation will not be the same in every case. The type of mineral association and the dimension of gold can become combined in order to give multiple natural presentations of the precious metal, even though it shows itself most of the time in its natural form of gold. In this way, it might be that gold is finely included in the sulphides be this in a microscopic dimension, presenting itself mixed amongst dozens of microns in sulphides or quartz. The treatment of those minerals will be completely different: the first will not be able to be treated by direct cyanidation and will need a supplementary operation to free the gold; the second will be able to be treated directly by being grinded and through cyanidation. It can be noted, that even though there are simple cases, often times gold presents itself naturally with the dimensions and different associations in the inside of a same mineral. The complexity of presentation of gold carries with it a great deal of complexity when it comes to the treatment.