Electrician Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 How do flocculants (clarifying/flocculating agents) affect gold recovery? Do these agents act detrimentally to the recovery process? Do they attach themselves to gold particles similar to Sodium Thiosulfate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisski Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 Sounds like you are trying to recover gold chemically. Those questions are likely beyond what you'll get a reasonable answer to, and probably will need to get a mining degree to get an answer to. That seems like an "End of the internet question" where good knowledge on that is just not available on a google search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 Doesn't quite answer the questions posed, but... https://www.911metallurgist.com/blog/flash-flotation-cell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DolanDave Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 (edited) I work for the Las Vegas Water District, we use Sodium Thio for Floc... have 2 treatment plants each capable of running 600 MGD. Our drying beds from the leftover particulate, has no Gold , thats water from Colorado River/ Lake Mead... Edited May 3, 2021 by DolanDave 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 Flocculants help to remove suspended particles from wash water. If you are wet processing free milling gold the addition of settling ponds is necessary whether you are processing your material with fresh water or reusing the water. Flocculants are added to the already used process water so they have no direct contact with free gold unless you are getting losses in your processing system. Flocculants will increase your gold recovery if you are recycling your process water because all things being equal dirty water loses more gold in a gravity separation process than clean water. Flocculants are necessary, and often required by law, if you are returning process water to a surface body of water. Basic mining - if you take clean water out you must return clean water to the system. Flocculants are a big part of that. If you don't like the idea of using minerals (Flocculants) to clear your process water you can do what the big miners do and use a centrifuge, a lamella clarifier or an ips. If you are wet processing placer material in the desert you can expect to lose anywhere from 40 - 80% of your process water for each wet process cycle. Most will be trapped in the fine silty material that is a constant companion of desert placers. The more clay in the material the lower your gold and water recovery rates will be. Recovering what water you can will help your operation keep costs down but you will need to constantly import fresh water to your site to continue processing. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrician Posted May 4, 2021 Author Share Posted May 4, 2021 20 hours ago, DolanDave said: I work for the Las Vegas Water District, we use Sodium Thio for Floc... have 2 treatment plants each capable of running 600 MGD. Our drying beds from the leftover particulate, has no Gold , thats water from Colorado River/ Lake Mead... This is interesting ... What tests are being ran on your dry bed particulate? As I have read and tried to understand it, Sodium Thiosulfate binds to AU, then processing further via electrowinning gold is extracted. 21 hours ago, Stillweaver hillbelli said: Doesn't quite answer the questions posed, but... https://www.911metallurgist.com/blog/flash-flotation-cell This is neat. We used something similar when I worked in the plating industry, the flotation cells were used to keep metals suspended in our processes. 22 hours ago, chrisski said: Sounds like you are trying to recover gold chemically. Those questions are likely beyond what you'll get a reasonable answer to, and probably will need to get a mining degree to get an answer to. That seems like an "End of the internet question" where good knowledge on that is just not available on a google search. https://www.google.com/search?q=sodium+thiosulfate+gold+extraction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrician Posted May 4, 2021 Author Share Posted May 4, 2021 https://www.911metallurgist.com/blog/sodium-thiosulphate-gold-leaching https://www.911metallurgist.com/blog/hyposulphite-of-sodium-aka-thiosulfate-gold-extraction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 wrong rabbit hole The most common, cheap and effective mine water flocs are Aluminum sulfate (alum), ferric chloride and ferric sulfate. Which is best to use depends on your waste pH and associated minerals. Flocs are used to process wastewater. There is no reason but incompetent processing that would lead to free gold being exposed to a Floc. Keep It Simple 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrician Posted May 5, 2021 Author Share Posted May 5, 2021 22 hours ago, clay said: Flocs are used to process wastewater. There is no reason but incompetent processing that would lead to free gold being exposed to a Floc. My initial post- WATER in the DESERT - Flocculants How do flocculants (clarifying/flocculating agents) affect gold recovery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DolanDave Posted May 15, 2021 Share Posted May 15, 2021 (edited) On 5/4/2021 at 8:18 AM, Electrician said: This is interesting ... What tests are being ran on your dry bed particulate? As I have read and tried to understand it, Sodium Thiosulfate binds to AU, then processing further via electrowinning gold is extracted. Hi Electrician, I first started panning it, but knew I would not find anything due to nanoparticles, but I just wanted to see if I could see any flour gold, but didnt get anything. Then I ran 2- 5 gallon buckets of it in a small homemade ballmill mixed in with some mercury. I retorted the mercury and still nada... I have a scanning electron microscope at work, I should have a sample taken to the lab, and see what kind of results come out of that. I havent read much into it, but if binding nano gold with thiosulfate is capable, and part of the major hurtles financially, I know of a large dirt dump, if you have a profitable way of getting the gold out... Edited May 15, 2021 by DolanDave 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 16, 2021 Share Posted May 16, 2021 (edited) On 5/14/2021 at 10:23 PM, DolanDave said: Hi Electrician, I first started panning it, but knew I would not find anything ................(big snip)......if you have a profitable way of getting the gold out... Any water in to the system is siphoned off well above the lake bed. Any gold, would settle out, well back in the drainages, besides the main of the Colorado. True? Edited May 16, 2021 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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