Abstract:
To address the technical bottleneck posed by the difficulty in effectively recovering and comprehensively utilizing valuable elements from a complex polymetallic gold concentrate in Peru using individual processes such as direct cyanidation and roasting−cyanidation, a combined flowsheet was developed, consisting of direct cyanidation leaching of gold and silver, bulk flotation of lead and zinc from the cyanidation residue, and copper flotation from the lead-zinc tailings after activation. Conditions including the pulp concentration for lead-zinc bulk flotation and the activator dosage were optimized. The results show that the gold and silver leaching recoveries obtained by direct cyanidation are 96.50 % and 90.20 %, respectively. The closed-circuit lead-zinc bulk flotation test on the cyanidation residue produces a lead-zinc bulk concentrate with a yield of 7.69 %, Pb and Zn grades of 23.60 % and 26.50 %, respectively, and Pb and Zn recoveries of 76.90 % and 78.37 %, respectively. Copper flotation from the lead-zinc tailings after activation produces a copper concentrate with a yield of 8.05 %, a Cu grade of 15.23 %, and a Cu recovery of 90.81 %. The unleached gold and silver in the cyanidation residue are partly enriched in the lead-zinc bulk concentrate and the copper concentrate, facilitating their effective recovery during pyrometallurgical smelting. Meanwhile, the sulfur grade of the sulfur concentrate is 44.38 %, meeting the requirements for pyrite feedstock used in sulfuric acid production. This process enables the comprehensive recovery of valuable elements from the complex polymetallic gold concentrate and provides a new technical approach to the resource recovery and high-value utilization of this type of gold concentrate.