The cyanide soluble copper contained in gold/copper ores has often been the Achilles’ heel in making these particular projects economic.
It has been a headache for geologists and metallurgists alike. The copper has proven to be more than just a nuisance element, but a determinant in the projects’ economic feasibility.
In addition to the economic implications simply quantifying the impact has proven to be a distraction in the assessment of what should be a gold project.
The measurement of total copper in the ore is not sufficient to understand the cost impact as it is the cyanide soluble copper that is relevant. Total copper may become important if it can justify the inclusion of a float plant pre- or post-CIL to produce profitable copper concentrate.
The basis is to show that the application of a simple resin technology, the ReCYN Process, is not only a game changer in solving the cost impact of soluble copper, but also simplifying the assessment of copper/gold ores. The overall benefits are seen to extend past the processing costs, to improved reserve estimates.
The approach is to effectively ignore the cyanide soluble copper and focus on the gold.
To find out more about the benefits of the ReCYN Process, fill out the form below to access an abstract from a report from ALTA 2019.