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Traditional vat involves fours stages:
Ore preparation: Ore characteristics determine the appropriate way to be prepared the ore before leaching. The ore may be crushed and agglomerated or only be treated by agglomeration (tailings).
Ores with excessive amounts of clay or fine material obtained during crushing must be agglomerated in order to have a final product with certain porosity, excellent stability during its transport, and good percolation.
Leaching: After preparation, the ore is deposited in the vat by conveyors or a loader. Once the ore is deposited, the cyanide solution is discharged on the ore by a sparging system or a system with holed pipes. The solution flow must be in the range 6 to 150 l/h/m2.
During leaching, the solution must be monitored for pH, dissolved oxygen, free cyanide, dissolved solids, and heavy metals.
Figure 3 shows the vat during leaching.
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