THE MINERALOGY OF GOLD AND ITS RELEVANCE TO GOLD RECOVERIES

Processing of most gold ores, other than placers, involves conventional gravity separation and direct cyanidation. The difficult (or refractory) gold ores are not amenable to direct cyanidation and these ores require detailed mineralogical investigations to assist in determining the recovery processes. There are six mineralogical factors that can contribute to poorer recoveries. These are 1. the nature of the gold-containing minerals, 2. the grain size of the gold minerals, 3. the nature of the gangue minerals, 4. the associated sulfide minerals, 5. coatings on gold, and 6. chemically bound or "invisible" gold.