Epinoza-Ramón, W.; Reyes-Rodríguez, O.; Peña Carpio, E.; Jiménez-Oyola, S.; Escobar-Segovia, K.; Menendez-Aguado, J.M.; Barzola, D.P. Alkaline Leaching for Arsenic Removal in Gold-Bearing Ore from Miraflores Mine, El Oro, Ecuador. Preprints2023, 2023091872. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202309.1872.v1
APA Style
Epinoza-Ramón, W., Reyes-Rodríguez, O., Peña Carpio, E., Jiménez-Oyola, S., Escobar-Segovia, K., Menendez-Aguado, J.M., & Barzola, D.P. (2023). Alkaline Leaching for Arsenic Removal in Gold-Bearing Ore from Miraflores Mine, El Oro, Ecuador. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202309.1872.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Epinoza-Ramón, W., Juan M Menendez-Aguado and Daniela Paz Barzola. 2023 "Alkaline Leaching for Arsenic Removal in Gold-Bearing Ore from Miraflores Mine, El Oro, Ecuador" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202309.1872.v1
Abstract
In Ecuador, particularly in the El Oro province, gold mining has been historically hampered by arsenic contamination in the ores. This research addresses the persistent issue of arsenic in gold-bearing ores from Miraflores Mine in Cerro Azul, Atahualpa Canton, and the challenges it presents to mining operations. The study's purpose is to evaluate the effectiveness of an alkaline leaching process for arsenic removal. The ore underwent thorough characterisation, employing advanced techniques like fire assay and atomic absorption. Once the ore's nature was discerned, an arsenic extraction experiment using a leaching solution was conducted. The implemented process achieved an arsenic removal efficiency of 90.54%. This enhanced ore quality facilitates efficient metallurgical applications and, more notably, reduces the environmental footprint by diminishing the need for harmful reagents like sodium cyanide. However, a significant implication of this method is the added cost due to the need for heat during the leaching test, amounting to an approximate $30 per ton increase. The alkaline leaching process emerges as a promising solution for arsenic challenges in El Oro’s mining sector. While the findings are encouraging, further expansive tests are recommended to validate the results and underscore the urgency for sustainable and hazard-conscious mining practices.
Keywords
arsenic removal; alkaline leaching; gold-bearing material
Subject
Engineering, Mining and Mineral Processing
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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