Continuous Leaching and Recovery of Silver Sulphide Ore in Cupric-Ammonia Thiosulfate Medium

The conventional way of treating silver ore is using cyanide during leaching process, also called cyanidation. Due to the inherent toxicity of cyanide and the potential hazard toward human and environment, cyanidation has raised more public concerns in our society. More and more regions have strict regulations or prohibition on using cyanide. An alternative leaching method for silver ore is necessary. Among all the proposed alternatives, thiosulfate leaching is the most promising one. Low toxicity and low cost make thiosulfate leaching attractive. Many studies have shown good results on thiosulfate leaching. However, before applying this new technique in real-world, the leaching system should be scale-up. The project adapts the thiosulfate leaching system in the condition that is more like the industry. By doing this, the scale-up data can be generated. Moreover, the data can be used in future research, as well as the real-world applications.

Faculty Supervisor:

David Dreisinger

Student:

Chih Wei Chao

Partner:

Pan American Silver Corp.

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Mining and quarrying

University:

Program: