Effect of different mills on the fine grinding characteristics and leaching behaviour of gold ore

• Published in: Minerals engineering 2024-09, Vol.215, p.108800, Article 108800
• Main Authors: Zhang, Xiaolong, Wei, Hongquan, Han, Yuexin, Zhou, Zhenya, Li, Wenbo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Fine grinding; Gold leaching; Mill; Product characteristic
• ISSN: 0892-6875; 1872-9444
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mineng.2024.108800

[Display omitted] •Differences in the fine grinding characteristics of the three mills were compared.•High-quality fine grinding products were obtained.•Horizontal stirred mill fine grinding operation can achieve efficient liberation of complex minerals.•Horizontal stirred mill fine grinding operation is beneficial to improving the gold leaching rate. With the continuous depletion of high-grade and easily selected minerals resources, complex associated relationships and fine dissemination sizes have been gradually mined and exploited. Such minerals require fine or ultrafine grinding to achieve effective liberation of the valuable metals. In this study, three laboratory-type grinding mills, including a ball mill, a vertical stirred mill and a horizontal stirred mill, were used to perform experiments on fine grinding and leaching experiments of gold ore. The results showed that the characteristics of the fine grinding products produced by the different grinding mills with the same grinding fineness differed considerably. Compared to the vertical stirred mill and ball mill, The fine grinding product from the horizontal stirred mill had a narrower and more uniform particle size distribution, higher fine grain distribution rate, larger specific surface area, and larger total pore volume than the corresponding characteristics of the products of the vertical stirred and ball mills. The fine grinding product obtained from the horizontal stirred mill exhibited a 20% greater gold leaching rate compared to the products obtained from the other two mills, when the reagent concentration, leaching time, and liquid to solid ratio were at optimal levels.