Kazakhstan has developed an innovative technology for extracting gold from complex ores

Kazakh scientists have proposed a new technology capable of increasing the efficiency of gold extraction from refractory ores while simultaneously reducing processing costs. The development has already successfully passed laboratory testing and is being considered a promising solution for further industrial implementation.

The project was implemented by specialists from the Branch of the National Center on Complex Processing of Mineral Raw Materials of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a branch of the Kazmekhanobr State Scientific and Production Association of Industrial Ecology, under the leadership of Bauyrzhan Surimbayev, Deputy Director for Research, Leading Researcher of the Precious Metals Laboratory, PhD, and Associate Professor, under grant funding from AP19677446.

This development is a response to one of the key challenges facing modern gold mining: the depletion of high-grade deposits and the increasing share of low-grade, complex ores. Traditional processing methods do not always provide high metal recovery and often require expensive reagents and strict adherence to process conditions.

Kazakh researchers have proposed two innovative technological approaches – one for oxidized and one for sulfide gold-bearing ores.

For oxidized ores, a technology was developed for pre-treatment with hydrogen peroxide and/or the addition of sodium acetate before heap leaching. This increased gold recovery to 7%, and with the combined use of reagents, to 10–14%.

For sulfide ores, the scientists implemented an approach that involves producing a high-grade gravity concentrate and then processing it using intensive cyanidation. The use of sodium acetate further increased gold recovery to 4% and reduced the gold content in the tailings. Furthermore, sodium acetate is considered a promising partial alternative to expensive reagents, making the technology more cost-effective.

According to the developers, the integrated approach is particularly valuable, allowing for the adaptation of technological solutions to various types of mineral raw materials and increasing the processing depth of domestic resources.

The high scientific level of the project has been confirmed by international recognition. The research has resulted in six published scientific papers, including two monographs, and four articles in international first- and second-quartile (Q1 and Q2) scientific journals indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. These include "Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review" (Taylor & Francis), "Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration" (Springer Nature), and "Heliyon" (Elsevier).

The project also provides research training: one PhD student is completing preparations for his dissertation defense on this topic.

The developers plan to move on to industrial testing of the technology and continue searching for new reagent solutions to improve the efficiency of processing various types of gold ore.

The development by Kazakhstani scientists opens new opportunities for deeper and more cost-effective processing of mineral resources, increased precious metal recovery, and the development of domestic mining and metallurgical science.

Sources: www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mps
 t.me/minpromstroykz/9520