Gold Recovery via Silicon Powder Cementation from a Thiosulfate Leaching Solution after Gold Metal Dissolution
Thiosulfate leaching of gold is a promising alternative to cyanidation due to its low toxicity and reduced environmental impact. We proposed displacement deposition (cementation) onto silicon powder for gold recovery from ammonium thiosulfate leaching solutions. However, the overall process from the...
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| Language: | English |
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The Electrochemical Society of Japan
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Electrochemistry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/electrochemistry/93/6/93_25-00056/_html/-char/en |
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| author | Ayumu MATSUMOTO Shota ABE Nobuyuki SHIMIZU Takumi OSAKA Jinichiro KADOWAKI Shinji YAE |
| author_facet | Ayumu MATSUMOTO Shota ABE Nobuyuki SHIMIZU Takumi OSAKA Jinichiro KADOWAKI Shinji YAE |
| author_sort | Ayumu MATSUMOTO |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Thiosulfate leaching of gold is a promising alternative to cyanidation due to its low toxicity and reduced environmental impact. We proposed displacement deposition (cementation) onto silicon powder for gold recovery from ammonium thiosulfate leaching solutions. However, the overall process from the leaching of solid gold to the separation of recovered gold has not been demonstrated. In this study, we present the leaching of a commercially available gold foil (94.43 wt% gold, 4.90 wt% silver, and 0.66 wt% copper) as a model of gold metal, the cementation of gold onto silicon powder in the pregnant solution, and the dissolution of silicon to separate the gold deposits. The gold metal dissolved completely in the leaching solution, and 100 % of dissolved gold was recovered via silicon powder cementation, while avoiding the co-recovery of copper used as an oxidizing agent for gold dissolution. The silicon powder was removed by potassium hydroxide treatment, yielding metal particles mainly composed of gold with minor silver originating from the gold foil. We further investigated silver deposition behavior using both gold and silver foils, indicating the formation of gold-silver mixed particles. This study demonstrates the applicability of a clean and sustainable gold recovery process from urban mine resources. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8dceeeea71e349c3a9d537dbc8d97e43 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2186-2451 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | The Electrochemical Society of Japan |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Electrochemistry |
| spelling | doaj-art-8dceeeea71e349c3a9d537dbc8d97e432025-08-20T02:36:53ZengThe Electrochemical Society of JapanElectrochemistry2186-24512025-06-0193606700206700210.5796/electrochemistry.25-00056electrochemistryGold Recovery via Silicon Powder Cementation from a Thiosulfate Leaching Solution after Gold Metal DissolutionAyumu MATSUMOTO0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4077-6757Shota ABE1Nobuyuki SHIMIZU2Takumi OSAKA3Jinichiro KADOWAKI4Shinji YAE5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1181-4811Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Graduate School of Engineering, University of HyogoDepartment of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Graduate School of Engineering, University of HyogoDepartment of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Graduate School of Engineering, University of HyogoDepartment of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Graduate School of Engineering, University of HyogoDepartment of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Graduate School of Engineering, University of HyogoDepartment of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Graduate School of Engineering, University of HyogoThiosulfate leaching of gold is a promising alternative to cyanidation due to its low toxicity and reduced environmental impact. We proposed displacement deposition (cementation) onto silicon powder for gold recovery from ammonium thiosulfate leaching solutions. However, the overall process from the leaching of solid gold to the separation of recovered gold has not been demonstrated. In this study, we present the leaching of a commercially available gold foil (94.43 wt% gold, 4.90 wt% silver, and 0.66 wt% copper) as a model of gold metal, the cementation of gold onto silicon powder in the pregnant solution, and the dissolution of silicon to separate the gold deposits. The gold metal dissolved completely in the leaching solution, and 100 % of dissolved gold was recovered via silicon powder cementation, while avoiding the co-recovery of copper used as an oxidizing agent for gold dissolution. The silicon powder was removed by potassium hydroxide treatment, yielding metal particles mainly composed of gold with minor silver originating from the gold foil. We further investigated silver deposition behavior using both gold and silver foils, indicating the formation of gold-silver mixed particles. This study demonstrates the applicability of a clean and sustainable gold recovery process from urban mine resources.https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/electrochemistry/93/6/93_25-00056/_html/-char/enhydrometallurgical processprecious metal recoverydisplacement depositionurban mines |
| spellingShingle | Ayumu MATSUMOTO Shota ABE Nobuyuki SHIMIZU Takumi OSAKA Jinichiro KADOWAKI Shinji YAE Gold Recovery via Silicon Powder Cementation from a Thiosulfate Leaching Solution after Gold Metal Dissolution Electrochemistry hydrometallurgical process precious metal recovery displacement deposition urban mines |
| title | Gold Recovery via Silicon Powder Cementation from a Thiosulfate Leaching Solution after Gold Metal Dissolution |
| title_full | Gold Recovery via Silicon Powder Cementation from a Thiosulfate Leaching Solution after Gold Metal Dissolution |
| title_fullStr | Gold Recovery via Silicon Powder Cementation from a Thiosulfate Leaching Solution after Gold Metal Dissolution |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gold Recovery via Silicon Powder Cementation from a Thiosulfate Leaching Solution after Gold Metal Dissolution |
| title_short | Gold Recovery via Silicon Powder Cementation from a Thiosulfate Leaching Solution after Gold Metal Dissolution |
| title_sort | gold recovery via silicon powder cementation from a thiosulfate leaching solution after gold metal dissolution |
| topic | hydrometallurgical process precious metal recovery displacement deposition urban mines |
| url | https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/electrochemistry/93/6/93_25-00056/_html/-char/en |
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