Method and system for extracting and refining gold from ores

Abstract

A process and system and for extracting and refining gold from ores using relatively benign and inexpensive chemicals, fewer process steps, and permitting the recycling and re-use of process chemicals. The invention is preferably implemented as a two part process. In a first part process, gold is extracted from the ore and dissolved in a chemical solution to form a gold complex. The chemical solution preferably includes a KI and I.sub.2. Optionally, Isopropyl alcohol is mixed with the KI and I.sub.2 to serve as an accelerant. In a second part process, the complex is reduced to gold from the solution, preferably by one of two methods. The first method precipitates the gold complex by washing and decomposing of the gold complex to form pure gold. The second method electrolytically plates the gold from the gold complex solution onto a cathode to obtain pure gold.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to gold ore extraction and refining processes, and systems implementing such processes.

BACKGROUND ART

In far ancient times, the only source of gold was relatively pure elemental gold that was found in the form of nuggets and powder. Some thousands of years ago, however, it was discovered that gold could be extracted from ore by a process known as mercury amalgamation. This process was based upon the fact that gold particles wetted by mercury adhere to each other and to mercury coated copper plates. For many centuries, this process was the only method used for extracting from ores. While the percentage of gold recovered by a mercury amalgamation process varies with the type of ore, it is a relatively inefficient process leading to a considerable loss of gold.

The amalgamation process remained dominant until the 1890's, when cyanide processes gained favor due to the dangers of mercury amalgamation (i.e. slow death by mercury poisoning), the relative inefficiency of the amalgamation process, and the scarcity and high cost of the required mercury. The cyanide processes was first used in South Africa--the largest producer of gold in the world --and is still the main gold extraction process used to this day.

The cyanide process was a vast improvement over the amalgamation process in terms of safety, cost, and efficiency. In this process, the gold in finely ground ore is dissolved by treating it with a very dilute solution of sodium cyanide or the less expensive calcium cyanide plus lime and oxygen from air. The mixture is held for some hours in large tanks equipped with agitators. The chemical reaction yields a water solution of gold cyanide and sodium cyanoaurite. This solution of gold is treated to remove oxygen, and is then clarified and mixed with zinc dust to precipitate the gold and the other metals, such as silver and copper, that were dissolved by the cyanide. The precipitate is then treated with dilute sulfuric acid to dissolve residual zinc plus most of the copper. The residue is washed, dried, and melted with fluxes (materials used to promote fusion of the gold and silver and to dissolve the remaining copper). The operation may be repeated to flux off more base metal. The remaining gold and silver alloy, called dore, is then cast into molds for assay.

In FIG. 1, a prior art cyanide process 10 for extracting gold from ore begins with a step 12 of mining the ore. Next, in a step 14, the ore is ground to a sand-like consistency. In a step 16, a dilute mixture of NaCN, lime, and oxygen is added to the finally ground ore and is agitated in a large tank. This produces a water solution of gold cyanide and sodium cyanoaorite. The solution may also include silver and gold cyanides. Next, in a step 18, the oxygen is removed and a zinc dust is added to cause a precipitation of the gold from the solution. Along with the gold, silver and copper are also precipitated. In a step 20, H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 is added to dissolve the zinc and copper. This produces an alloy known as dore, which is essentially an alloy of gold and silver. Dore can be up to about 96% pure gold, with the majority of the remainder being silver. Next, a purification process such as a Wohlwill process 22 or a Miller process 24 is used to create essentially pure gold. Both of these processes are well known to those skilled in the art. The Wohlwill process can create 99.95% pure gold, while the Miller process can create 99.5% gold purity. The Wohlwill process is an electrolytic process wherein essentially pure gold coats a cathode, and wherein impurities such as silver form chlorides and remain near the anode. Typically, Pt and Pd also dissolve in the electrolyte. In the Miller process, silver and other metals are converted to chlorides by passing chlorine though molten dore, and then are poured off or volatized. The Miller process creates a purity of only about 99.5%, since it is stopped before the gold converts into a chloride.

Cyanide processes have been well developed over the past century. However, these processes have a number of recognized deficiencies. For one, the use of cyanide is extremely hazardous and the resulting effluents are damaging to the environment. Further, it will be noted that the cyanide processes involve a large number of process steps, including a series of separations, alloying steps and final purification steps. These processes also involve the use of a number of chemicals, some of which are quite expensive, and a considerable expenditure of energy in the large number of process steps. The cyanides processes are therefore considered too expensive for use with low grade ores, and limit potential production due to the slowness and cost of the total process.

The standard gold extraction processes principally use dangerous and expensive chemicals like the cyanides, and have many steps resulting in a complex process. They also require extensive purification processes after extraction. It is therefore desirable to create a process that uses more benign chemicals and uses simpler processes, thus having the potential to reduce the overall cost of extracting and refining of gold.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,421 of Leibovitz et al., a controlled etching process for performing fine-geometry conductive gold circuit lines on a substrate is disclosed for use in the electronics industry. Briefly, the disclosed invention is concerned with the production of fine geometry electronic circuitry by controlling the gold content in the etchants. This requires reducing the dissolved gold content in the etchants when the gold content begins to rise. Failure to reduce the gold content in the etchants will affect process control. The reduction in gold content in the etchants is achieved by recovering a dissolved gold complex compound (AuI.KI.sub.3) from the etchant, thereby restoring the etchant for continuous etching of the fine geometry gold circuit lines. The recovered complex is further converted to AuI and subsequently to Au. Leibovitz et al. also propose to reduce the gold content in the etchants by removing gold electrolytically.

Therefore, the Leibovitz et al. process teaches the removal of gold from a etchant solution to permit the etchant solution to be reused. However, this process as disclosed for providing fine electronic circuitry is not be suitable for the mass production of gold from gold ores in that it is a slow, controlled process used to maintain etchant purity and not a fast, bulk process for economically producing large quantities of gold. Therefore, this slow controlled process used in the electronics industry would not appear to be applicable to a gold mining industry. This is due, in part, to the fact that for the Leibovitz et al. process to provide a commercially viable gold extraction and refinement method, its processes would need to be different and would need to be accelerated by at least an order of magnitude or more to be economically viable. In addition, substantially changes would have to be made to the Leibovitz et al. process in order to provide the ability for continuous or semi-continuous ore processing and extraction of gold from the liquid chemicals.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention includes process and systems and for efficiently, rapidly, and safely extracting and refining gold from ores. The processes and systems have many advantages over the aforementioned cyanide extraction processes in that it uses more benign and less expensive chemicals, has many fewer process steps, and permits the recycling and re-use of its chemicals, thereby lowering the costs further and minimizing environmental damages.

The present invention is preferably implemented as a two part process. In a first part, gold is dissolved from the ore as a solution, and in the second part the gold is removed from the solution. Briefly, gold is extracted from the ore and dissolved in the chemical solution to form a gold complex. Next, the complex is reduced to gold from the solution, preferably by one of two methods. The first method precipitates the gold complex by washing and decomposing of the gold complex to form pure gold. The second method electrolytically plates the gold from the gold complex solution onto a cathode to obtain pure gold.

More particularly, the first part of the process begins with the mining of gold ore and the grinding of the ore to create fine particles. This finally ground ore is deposited in an agitator tank (also known as the "reaction chambers", "reaction vessels", "main vessels", and the like) and is heated to an elevated temperature.

Preferably, the etchant (or "liquid", or "liquid chemical", or "solution") is a KI-water solution with an addition of I.sub.2, and with an optional addition of Isopropyl alcohol. The etchant, agitation, and elevated temperature creates a gold complex in the etchant solution which is extracted for further processing.

As noted above, this further processing can comprise of one of two methods. In a first or "precipitation" method, the gold complex solution is deposited in a cooling chamber at about 2.degree. C. This causes a black precipitate of AuI.KI.sub.3 to form. This black precipitant is then filtered and washed with water to create yellowish precipitate of AuI. The yellowish precipitant is filtered and dried, and is thermally decomposed to create the gold. In an alternative second method, the gold complex solution is extracted, cooled if necessary, and water is added to create a precipitant of AuI. This precipitate is filtered, dried and then thermally decomposed into gold. During either of the described precipitation methods, the chemical used in the process can be recycled and reused. For example, the KI and the I.sub.2 can be reclaimed and recycled.

In a second of "electrochemical" method, the gold complex solution is placed into an electro-extraction chamber at a temperature that is preferably at or below that of the reaction chambers. Next, one or more electro-extraction cells are immersed and activated in the etchant liquid and an electro-deposition begins. In this method, the gold forms on the cathodes of the cell. After the gold has been substantially electrochemically removed from the etchant liquid, the electro-extraction cells are removed and the cathodes are washed with water and filtered to obtain the gold.

The systems and apparatus of the present invention are designed to economically implement the above-described processes. A plurality of reaction chambers (e.g., 8 reaction chambers) can be used for continuous gold production. Since the method of the present invention is, essentially, a two part process, the system of the present invention preferably includes a first part processor which extracts the gold out of the ore to put it into a gold complex solution, and a second part processor which removes the gold from the gold complex solution.

A major advantage of the present invention is that it uses more benign and less expensive chemicals. The elimination of the cyanide used for cyanide processes and the mercury used in the amalgamation processes greatly improves operator safety and reduces environmental damage. Furthermore, the total chemicals used by the present invention tend to be less expensive than the total chemicals used in the aforementioned processes, and are well suited for recycling, again lowering costs and reducing potential environmental damage.

In addition, the process of the present invention has many fewer steps than the dominant cyanide extraction process of the prior art. This greatly lowers the cost of production and increases the through put of the gold extraction system.

These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed descriptions and studying the various figures of the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow-diagram of a prior art cyanide process for extracting gold from ore;

FIG. 2 is a block-diagram of a system in accordance with the present invention for extracting and refining gold from ore;

FIG. 3 is a flow-diagram of a first part process of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a top-elevational view of reaction chamber of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4a is cross-sectional view taken along line 4a--4a of FIG. 4;

FIG. 5 is a block-diagram of a gold remover of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6a is a flow-diagram of a first preferred method ("first precipitation method") for removing gold from solution implemented by the gold remover of FIG. 5;

FIG. 6b is a flow diagram of an alternative first preferred method ("second precipitation method") for removing gold from solution implemented by the gold remover of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a block-diagram of an alternative gold remover of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a flow-diagram of a second preferred method ("electrochemical method") for removing gold from solution implemented by the gold remover of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of electrolysis chamber of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a flow-diagram of a process for purifying dore into gold in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a reaction chamber for converting dore into gold in accordance with the process of FIG. 10.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a flow-diagram of a prior art cyanide process for extracting gold as discussed above. In FIG. 2, system 26 in accordance with the present invention for extracting and refining gold from ore includes a first part processor 28 and a second part processor 30. The first part processor 28 implements a first process which creates a gold complex in a solution. As used herein "solution", "liquid", "liquid chemical", "etchant", and variants thereof may be used synonymously. The second part processor 30 removes the gold from the solution and refines ("purifies") the gold to a purified form. If necessary, an additional purifier 32 using one of the aforementioned prior art methods can further refine the gold. Preferably, a recycle chamber 34 is used to recycle the chemicals in the system 26. The chemistry of the two part process of the present invention has similarities to the chemistry and processes described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,421 of Leibovitz et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

The first part processor 28 preferably includes a reaction chamber 36, a holding tank 38, a filter 40, and a pre-heater 42. A valve 44 may be opened to allow fresh chemicals to enter an inlet 46 and/or to allow recycle chemicals to flow in through valve 44 into a pipe 48. A valve 50 allows chemicals to flow from either pipe 48 or a pipe 52 into a pipe 54 and through a filter 40. From there, the chemicals flow into a pipe 56 and through a pre-heater 42 before entering the reaction chamber 36 via pipe 58. Finely ground ore is also deposited in the reaction chamber 36 as indicated at 60.

The output of the reaction chamber flows through a pipe 62 to a valve 64 which can divert the fluid to either holding tank 38 via a pipe 64 or to a pipe 66. A valve 68 allows either the fluid flow from pipe 66 to a pipe 70 or from the holding tank 38 through a pipe 72 to the pipe 70. A valve 74 allows the liquid to be diverted to either pipe 52 or to an output pipe 74.

The output pipe 74 is coupled to the gold remover 30 which produces gold as indicated at 76. While this gold can be quite pure, if additional refinement is desired, the additional purifier 32 can create even purer gold as indicated at 78. Optionally, chemicals extracted by the gold remover 30 can be pumped to a recycle chamber 34 via pipe 80 where it is mixed with "make up" chemical 82 in the recycle chamber. The recycle chemicals in a pipe 84 can be used instead of, or it can be mixed with the fresh chemicals flowing into the inlet 46 as determined by the position of the valve 44.

In operation, the system 26 is charged with fresh and/or recycle chemicals such that the reaction chamber is full and such that the various types of the first part processor 28 are full. Ore is then put into the reaction chamber 36 as indicated at 60, and the solution is pumped through the first part processor 28 by a pump (not shown) in the direction indicated at 86. That is, the solution is pumped from the reaction chamber 36 through pipes 62, 66, 70, 52, 54, filter 40, pipe 56, pre-heater 42, and pipe 58 back into the reaction chamber 36 on a preferably continuous basis. The solution preferably be pumped in this fashion for a number of hours (e.g., 4 hours) until most of the gold that is going to be extracted from the ore has been extracted from the ore. This can determined by a titration process wherein the rate of change of dissolved gold can be monitored, or by an in-line process (not shown) which automatically terminates the process when it is determined that enough gold has been extracted from the ore 60.

The holding tank 38 can be used for a variety of purposes. For example, the holding tank can hold the gold complex liquid when exchanging ore at the reaction chamber. Furthermore, the holding tank can hold water used for washing the ore before its exchange, since the wash water can also include gold. In addition, the holding tank allows the reaction chamber(s) to be emptied for maintenance. While a precipitation chamber could be used for this purpose, the liquid might not yet contain sufficient Au for precipitation, or the precipitation chamber already be in use at that time.

Once it is determined that there is sufficient gold complex in the solution a valve 74 causes a gold complex solution to flow through pipe 74 and into the gold remover 30. The gold remover 30 creates the gold 76 and, preferably recycles the chemicals through recycle chamber 34 to be used in the first part processor 28 again. The second part processor (gold remover) 30 can produce gold of high purity but, if even higher purity is desired, an additional purifier 32 can be used to produce highly purified gold 78.

FIG. 3 illustrates a process 88 implemented by the first part processor 28 of FIG. 2. The first part process 88 begins at 90 with a mining of the gold ore and with a step 92 where the ore is ground to the consistency between that of a coarse sand and small pebbles. In a step 94, a KI+water solution is prepared and is mixed with I.sub.2 in a step 96. Optionally, Isopropyl alcohol is mixed with the KI and the I.sub.2 to server as an accelerant. This mixture becomes the initial extraction solution. A step 98 adds the extraction solution to the ore in the agitator tank (i.e. the main reaction chamber) at elevated temperature. This causes the gold to be extracted from of the ore to become a part of a gold complex compound in the solution. Next, in a step 100, the liquid with dissolved gold complex compound is extracted for further processing and the process 88 is completed.

FIG. 4 is a top-plan view of reaction chamber 36 in accordance with the present invention. This particular embodiment of a reaction chamber is a multi-vessel embodiment including 8 reaction vessels 102. The reaction vessels 102 are enclosed in jackets 104 that are used for heating the contents of the vessels 102, and the reaction vessels 102 are also contained in a larger outer container 106 for containment purposes. Each of the vessels has an agitator, an etchant inlet, a water inlet, and an ore inlet. The various components of the reaction chamber 36 can be seen in greater detail in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4a.

The reaction vessels 102 are made from an inert, strong material such as polyethylene. Alternatively, a composite material (such as metal covered with plastic or ceramic), or an entirely ceramic vessel can be used. The reaction vessel should be inert to KI, I, and Isopropyl alcohol. The jackets 104 are used to heat the contents of the reaction vessels 102 and can comprise electrical resistance coils, or fluid heating coils. Alternatively, the containment vessel can include a heated fluid for heating the contents of the reaction vessels, or use immersion heaters (not shown) immersed in the solution of the reaction vessels.

The reaction vessels are located within the containment vessel 106 and are supported pedestals 108. The outer container 106 can provide a rocking, vibrating, or shaking motion help agitate the solution within the reaction chamber 102. The pedestals fit within receptacles 110 of the container 106. Outlets 112 of the reaction vessels 102 are aligned with corresponding outlets 114 of the containment vessel 106. Gaskets 116 are made from an inert material and separate any bath liquid (e.g., hot water) that may be in the outer container 106, or any liquids that may have sloshed into the outer container 106, from the etchant liquid coming out of the outlet 112. A filter 118 is preferably used to filter the fluid flowing out of the outlet 112 to remove some of the ore sludge and larger particulates. The material of the separator filter 118 is preferably similar to the reaction vessel material and should be thick enough to support the ore and the etchant mixture. Polyethylenes and other strong, inert plastics are suitable for this purpose. Alternatively, a composite material such as a strong metal converted with an inert plastic or ceramic material can also be used to make the filter 118.

Associated with each reaction chamber is a mixer 120 which is also made from a suitable, inert material such as polyethylene. The mixer has a number of blades 122 and is rotated by a motor 124. There are a number of water inlets 126 coupled to water sources by valves 128 and a number of chemical inlets 130 coupled to the chemical solution by valves 132. Preferably the water and chemical inlets take the form of spray heads so that the liquids can be quickly and evenly applied to the ground ore within the reaction vessels.

Temperature of the reaction chemicals in the reaction chamber(s) are preferably maintained at a controlled temperature between room temperature (e.g. 25.degree. C.) and 100.degree. C., with a preferred temperature of the reaction at around 50-60.degree. C. The reaction vessel can be heated by a variety of methods. For example, the reaction vessel can be heated heating from outside using electro-resistive heating elements, or by hot liquid carrying heating coils, or by a liquid bath, or by immersion heaters inside the reaction chamber. The etchant liquids are preferably pre-heated to the aforementioned controlled temperature, and the ores can optionally be pre-heated (especially if they are to be roasted, i.e. preheated in air). Insulation of the reaction chambers is preferably sufficient to keep the temperature of the reaction chamber high enough to carry out the reaction at a suitably high rate.

Agitation is preferred to intimately mix the ground ore with the chemicals to promote the reaction to occur to at a relatively fast pace, and to a desirable level of completeness. Agitation enhances the provision of fresh chemicals to the reaction interface between the ore surface and the liquid etchant solution. Agitation of large tanks is achieved by existing techniques known in the art of element extraction from ores. In the case of a large reaction vessel, the whole tank can be an agitation bed, and in the case of smaller reaction vessel approach, multiple reaction vessels can be placed on an agitation bed.

As noted, incoming chemicals are preferably preheated, filtered and brought into the reaction vessel through pipes again made of inert materials, which can be similar to the inert materials used in the reaction chamber(s). Insulating the pipes is advantageous to maintain the heated temperature of the incoming liquids. It is preferred that the chemical solution be sprayed onto the ore, again for the purpose of accommodating quick intermixing between the ore and chemicals to help in increasing reaction rates as well as to carry the reaction to completeness. Outgoing chemicals are preferably drawn out from the bottom, and gross filters can be provided to prevent the ores being carried out with the outgoing chemicals. Again, the gross filters are preferably made of the aforementioned inert materials. After the liquid solution is removed of the reaction vessel, a second filtration may optionally be used to remove particulates. The pipes carrying the liquid solution from the reaction chamber are preferably insulated and/or heated to minimize the rate of precipitation of gold complex on the walls of the outflow pipes.

In use, the ore is inserted into the reaction chambers 102 by a mechanism, not shown. Apparatus for loading and unloading ores are well known to those skilled in the art. The valve 132 is opened to permit the chemicals to flow into the reaction chamber 102 where they are heated by jacket 104, by hot water within chamber 106, or by another suitable heating method. Motor 124 causes the agitator 120 to rotate, thereby stirring the solution 134 within the vessel 102. Gold is extracted from the ore 136 into the solution 134 to form a gold complex solution which can flow into the filters 118 and out the outlets 112 and 114.

In FIG. 5, a gold remover 30, in accordance with a first ("precipitation") method of the present invention includes a gold filtration chamber 138 and a heating chamber 140. The gold complex solution is entered into the gold filtration chamber 138 and filtrate (gold precipitate) is removed from the gold filtration chamber. The filtrate liquid can be recycled as described previously. The filtrate is then inserted into the heating chamber 140 where it is decomposed into gold and I.sub.2, which is also recycled as previously described.

There are several preferred methods that can be implemented by the gold remover 30 illustrated in FIG. 5. A preferred first method is shown in FIG. 6a. The process 140 begins at 142 with the extraction of the liquid from the gold complex solution into a cooling chamber to cool to approximately 2.degree. C. The result of this cooling step is a black precipitate of AuI.KI.sub.3. Next, in a step 144, this black precipitate is filtered, and washed with water. This produces a yellowish precipitate of AuI. Next, a step 146 filters and dries the AuI precipitate, and a step 148 thermally decomposes the AuI to create gold. As noted, the I.sub.2 created by the thermal decomposition of the AuI can be recycled in a step 150 and other chemicals created from the filtering and drying step can also be recycled in a step 152.

In FIG. 6b, an alternative first method for the gold remover 30 of FIG. 5 begins at 156 with the extraction of the liquid of the gold complex solution. The solution is cooled if necessary, and water is added. This creates a precipitate of the AuI which is then filtered and dried in a step 158. The dried precipitate of AuI is then thermally decomposed into gold in a step 160. Optionally, a step 162 can recycle the I.sub.2 from the step 160, and in a step 164 can recycle the KI+I.sub.2 produced by the step 158.

An alternative embodiment for a gold remover 30' of FIG. 2 is illustrated in FIG. 7. Instead of using a precipitation and filtering process, an electrolysis process is used. The alternative gold remover 30' includes an electrolysis chamber 166 and a wash and filter apparatus 168. The gold complex solution is placed into the electrolysis chamber 166 which produces a plated gold and, preferably, reclaims the chemicals of the solution for recycling and reuse. The plated gold washed and filtered in apparatus 168 to provide gold.

A second ("electro-chemical") process 170 implemented by the gold remover 30' or FIG. 7 is shown in FIG. 8. A step 172 extracts the liquid of the gold complex solution into an electro-extraction chamber having a temperature at or below that of the agitator tanks (i.e. the main reaction vessels). Next, the electro-extraction cells are deposited into the solution and gold is electro-deposited on the cathodes. Alternatively, the cells can already be in the reaction chambers, and the gold complex solution can be poured in around the cells, which are subsequently energized by a power source to initiate the gold deposition on the cathodes. Finally, in a step 176, the cathodes are removed and washed with water, and the precipitate is filtered to produce substantially pure gold. As an optional step 178, the chemical can be reclaim and recycled.

In FIG. 9, an electrolysis chamber 166 of FIG. 7 is illustrated in greater detail. While in this embodiment two electro-extraction cells are illustrated, it should be clear that more, and potentially many more, cells can be used to speed up the extraction process. The chamber 166 includes an outer chamber 180, a reaction vessel 182, a heater jacket 184, the gold complex solution 186, and one or more electro-extraction cells 188. Each of the electro-extraction cells 188 includes an anode 190 and a cathodes 192. When energized by a d.c. power source (not shown), preferably to about 3-5 volts d.c. and 20 amperes per liter of solution, the gold and the gold-complex solution 186 will be plated on the cathodes 92. A current density of about 0.1 A/cm.sup.2 of cathode area is desired. After the rate of plating in a cathode is diminished, or after some other suitable end point criteria, the cells 188 are removed and the cathodes 192 are washed to produce substantially pure gold.

With reference to the foregoing descriptions, several preferred processes in accordance with the present invention will be described. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the described processes are illustrative of preferred embodiments of the present invention, and that there are a number of equivalents that will be apparent to those skilled in the art of the various processing steps, apparatus, systems, and materials that are within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Gold Ore Extraction and Refinement Process Examples

The process begins with the mining of gold ore, which is produced in large quantities in, inter alia, South Africa, Russia, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, and other nations. The ore is then finely ground to between the consistency of coarse sand and fine pebbles in commercially available or custom made ore grinders. Ore mining and grinding processes are well known to those skilled in the art. Next, a solution of I.sub.2 +KI(aq) and preferably Isopropyl alcohol is added to the ore, or vice versa. Again, the loading and unloading of ores is well known to those skilled in the art. The solution is preferably made by dissolving commercially available KI crystals in water to make KI(aq), and then dissolving commercially available I.sub.2 crystals in the KI(aq). Optionally, but preferably, Isopropyl alcohol is then added to the I.sub.2 +KI(aq) to serve as an accelerant. Other alcohols can also be used as accelerants. The Isopropyl alcohol can accelerate the gold dissolving process by 100%. One part Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) can be added to one part KI(aq) to create IPA.KI(aq). IPA increases the solubility of gold complex and hence increases the reaction rate a desirably rapid rate. It should be noted that since the IPA accelerates the process, it would not be a suitable addition for a controlled rate process. The reaction rate of the present invention can also be increased by increasing the flow rate of the solution through the ore.

The solution and ore should be mixed in a reaction vessel made of an inert material to the various chemicals of the process. For example, a polyethylene material, composite materials made of ceramic or metal coated with a suitable plastic or inorganic coating (such as ceramic) can be used for constructing the reaction vessel. The reaction vessels require a material that can sustain repeated use, but is not attacked by the etchants. Smaller tanks, made of similar material can also be used. Depending on whether a large tank is used or small tank is used, the approaches of loading of fresh ore, and unloading of spent ore will be different, as appreciated by those skilled in the art. The chemical addition and removal, to a large extent may be similar but with modifications, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Gold from the ore is dissolved by the chemicals and a gold complex is formed according to the following reaction:

2Au(metal)+[2I.sub.2 +2KI(aq)].fwdarw.2AuI.KI.sub.3 (aq) where the "." between the I and K refers to a weak bond, and "(aq)" refers to an aqueous solution.

At 40.degree. C., about 20 grams of gold can be dissolved in one liter of the aqueous KI/I.sub.2 solution without IPA. With proper agitation, this can be achieved in less than 45 minutes. As noted above, the inclusion of IPA increases the solubility of the Au in the solution and also increase the rate at which it goes into solution. As the solution becomes saturated with gold, the gold extraction rate will decrease. Elevated temperatures greater than about 30.degree. C. substantially increases the solubility, and use of IPA while increases the reaction rate, and also positively affects the solubility. Reaction times for extracting gold from the ore is preferably several hours to ensure virtually all of the gold has been extracted from the ore. A preferred temperature range for the reaction is 50-60.degree. C. as this will help extracting more gold per liter of the solution.

Typically 3 tons of ore needs to be processed per ounce of gold, which is also about the amount of gold that one liter of etchant can contain without loss of reactivity. The same chemicals are preferably continuously circulated with fresh batches of ore till the chemical reaches a saturation point after which the gold complex can be precipitated at a lower temperature. This technique reduces the quantities of chemicals required. Also, after the gold is extracted from the etchant chemical, whether by the aforementioned precipitation or electrochemical methods, the chemicals are preferably be reclaimed and reused.

The etchant liquid (i.e. the gold complex solution) after it reaches a high enough gold concentration, is transferred into a precipitation chamber in the first methods, or to an electro-extraction chamber in the second method. It is necessary to transfer the solution to a chamber other than the main reaction chamber (vessel) in the first ("precipitation") methods because of the temperature differences in the two parts of the process. However, for the second ("electrochemical") method the process can be carried out in the main reaction vessel(s). Nonetheless, it is preferred that the electrochemical extraction be carried in separate chamber as it makes the monitoring and maintenance of the two part process (i.e. gold extraction from ore into solution, and the subsequent extraction of the gold from the etchant) of the process separate, simple, and relatively clean.

With the first (precipitation) method, etchant liquid enters a low temperature chamber (preferably maintained at about 2.degree. C.), and because of the solubility differences, the gold complex will precipitate out. Even though the low temperature chamber will be in the loop for the continuous operation, in practical terms it would be used as a batch operation since the solubility gold in the etchant is quite high in relative terms compared to the amount of gold in the ore. The liquid etchant is preferably continuously recycled through the main reaction chamber.

After the precipitation of gold complex, the liquid is filtered. The low temperature precipitation chamber can be also be fitted as a filtration chamber, or the precipitate can be transferred to a separate chamber for filtration.

Addition of water (which is preferably cold) will convert the gold complex AuI.KI.sub.3 into AuI. This can be accomplished during the filtration process. Even more preferably, the cold water can be added to the aqueous etchant solution contain the gold iodide-potassium iodide complex (black precipitate), to cause the gold iodide to precipitate into an insoluble compound even more readily. This helps in extracting the gold without having to wait for the saturation of the etchant with gold complex, and provides an option for continuous flow operation of the extraction of the gold compound.

AuI (solid precipitate) thus collected can be readily converted to gold after drying and heating the it to temperatures of about 140.degree. C. to 150.degree. C. to form relatively pure Au. I.sub.2 is a byproduct and is fed back into the recycle loop. Gold can be further purified if necessary by prior art methods, e.g. mercury amalgamation or cyanide processes. However, since these prior art methods are being applied to substantially pure gold, they will take place on a much smaller scale and with much less negative side effects than when they were applied to the extraction of gold from ore.

With the second (electrochemical) method, the gold is plated onto the cathodes of the cells. The plated material can be washed off of the cathodes with cold water at about 25.degree. C., and then filtered and dried to provide substantially pure gold.

Another variation of the process transfers the gold etchant containing the AuI.KI.sub.3 complex to a low temperature chamber (as described above), and chilled water at a temperature of about 10-25.degree. C. is added to cause the AuI to precipitate from the solution without the intermediate step of the AuI.KI.sub.3 precipitation. AuI is insoluble in, and hence precipitates out, of the solution at these temperatures and can therefore be separated from the solution.

A further variation cools the etchant solution to a lower temperature than the reaction temperature of the main vessel as it is removed from the main vessel. For example, the etchant can be cooled to about room temperature. It is then mixed with chilled water at about the temperature of 10-25.degree. C. and fed into a filtration chamber. Gold iodide precipitates and is and collects as filtrate on the filter. The etchant liquid is the preferably fed back to the recycle loop.

In FIG. 10, a process 194 for refining gold from dore is illustrated. In a first step 196, the dore is dissolved in an etchant which serves an electrolyte for an electro-extraction cell. A step 198 then causes the gold from solution to plate the electrode of the cell, and a step 200 washes and filters the precipitant from the plated cathode of the cell to produce pure gold.

In FIG. 11, a system 202 for converting dore to gold includes a containment vessel 204, a reaction vessel 206, and an electro-extraction cell 208, and a solution 210. A rod of dore 212 is slowly dissolved in the etchant 210, which is preferably a KI+I.sub.2 (aq) solution to create a the electrolyte. The cell 208 is coupled to a power supply of approximately 3-5 volts d.c. capable of providing 20 amperes/liter of solution to cause the gold 212 to plate upon the electrode 214 of the cell 208. Preferably, hot water 216 is circulated between the containment vessel 204 and the reaction vessel 206 to maintain the temperature of the dore solution 210 at about 30-50.degree. C. The water can flow out of an outlet 218. Likewise, fresh etchant solution can flow in an inlet 220 and out of an outlet 222 to provide fresh electrolyte solution.

After the gold has been extracted and refined, it may be fashioned into ingots or other suitable forms. The gold may be alloyed with other metals, and fashioned into a number of articles of manufacture, including jewelry. The gold may also be used in its purified form for commercial and scientific purposes, or fashioned into other forms for use as coinage, bullion, etc.

While this invention has been described in terms of several preferred embodiments, there are alterations, permutations, and equivalents which fall within the scope of this invention. It should also be noted that there are may alternative ways of implementing the process, methods, systems and apparatus of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted as including all such alterations, permutations, and equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An apparatus for extracting gold from ore comprising:

a source of ground ore having interstitial gold;

a source of an aqueous chemical solution including at least two species of chemicals, where a first species is an alkali/alkaline halide, and where a second species is the corresponding halogen;

an insulated reaction chamber operating at a reaction chamber temperature and adapted to receive said ground ore and said chemical solution, thereby causing at least some of said interstitial gold to form a gold complex of the halogen in said aqueous solution;

a heater for heating said reaction chamber to said reaction chamber temperature;

a holding tank coupled to said reaction chamber to receive said aqueous solution;

a cooling system coupled to said holding tank to lower the temperature of said aqueous solution to less than said reaction chamber temperature to form a precipitate including gold;

a filtration chamber coupled to said holding tank to receive said aqueous solution and said precipitate;

a source of water coupled to at least one of said holding tank and said filtration chamber to convert said gold complex in said precipitate into gold iodide; and

a decomposer for decomposing said gold iodide into gold.

2. An apparatus for extracting gold from ore as recited in claim 1 wherein said first species is selected from the group consisting of potassium, sodium, barium, and calcium, and wherein said halide is selected from the group consisting of iodide, bromide, and chloride.

3. An apparatus for extracting gold from ore as recited in claim 1 wherein said second species is selected from the group consisting of iodine, bromine, and chlorine.

4. An apparatus for extracting gold from ore as recited in claim 1 further comprising a mixer disposed within said reaction chamber.

5. An apparatus for extracting gold from ore as recited in claim 1 wherein said reaction chamber temperature is controllably maintained between about 25.degree. C. and about 100.degree. C.

6. An apparatus for extracting gold from ore as recited in claim 1 wherein said reaction chamber temperature is controllably maintained between about 50.degree. C. and about 60.degree. C.

7. An apparatus for extracting gold from ore as recited in claim 1 wherein said heater is selected from the group consisting of immersion heaters and electro-resistive heating elements.

8. An apparatus for extracting gold from ore comprising:

a source of ground ore having interstitial gold;

a source of an aqueous chemical solution including at least two species of chemicals, where a first species is an alkali/alkaline halide, and where a second species is the corresponding halogen;

an insulated reaction chamber operating at a reaction chamber temperature and adapted to receive said ground ore and said chemical solution, thereby causing at least some of said interstitial gold to form a gold complex of the halogen in said aqueous solution;

a pre-heater coupled to said reaction chamber for heating said chemical solution to said reaction chamber temperature;

a holding tank coupled to said reaction chamber to receive said aqueous solution;

a cooling system coupled to said holding tank to lower the temperature of said aqueous solution to less than said reaction chamber temperature to form a precipitate including gold;

a filtration chamber coupled to said holding tank to receive said aqueous solution and said precipitate;

a source of water coupled to at least one of said holding tank and said filtration chamber to convert said gold complex in said precipitate into gold iodide; and

a decomposer for decomposing said gold iodide into gold.

9. An apparatus for extracting gold from ore as recited in claim 8 further comprising a sprayer for spraying said chemical solution onto said ground ore.

10. An apparatus for extracting gold from ore as recited in claim 8 further including a containment vessel disposed around said reaction chamber, said containment vessel being capable of providing a shaking motion to said reaction chamber and further capable of containing any said chemical solution that may escape from said reaction chamber.

11. An apparatus for extracting gold from ore as recited in claim 8 wherein said chemical solution further includes isopropyl alcohol.