The stages of gold production
1. Gold Ore Extraction
- Mining: Gold-bearing rocks are extracted from mines. This stage includes drilling, crushing, and transporting the rocks to the processing plant.
- Selection of Extraction Method: Depending on the type of rock and mine conditions, different methods, such as open-pit or underground mining, are chosen.
2. Milling and Crushing
- Milling the Rocks: The extracted rocks are crushed and milled in industrial mills to reduce them to smaller particles.
- Ball Milling: In this stage, ball mills are used for further crushing and preparing the material for gold extraction.
4. Concentration and Smelting
- Gold Concentration: The separated gold is concentrated through physical and chemical methods, removing impurities.
- Smelting: The gold is melted in industrial furnaces and cast into bars or nuggets, with impurities being removed.
3. Gold Separation
- Flotation: The crushed material is mixed with specific chemicals that cause the gold particles to attach to the surface of the water.
- Cyanidation: One of the common methods for gold extraction, where gold is separated from the rocks using a cyanide solution.
- Carbon in Pulp (CIP) or Carbon in Leach (CIL): In these methods, gold is absorbed from the cyanide solution by activated carbon and then separated.
5. Gold Refining
Chlorination: In this method, gold is converted into gold chloride and separated from impurities.- Electrowinning: In this stage, gold is extracted from chemical solutions using an electric current, resulting in purer gold.
6. Molding and Bar Production
- Casting: The pure gold is melted and poured into molds to form bars.
- Weighing and Stamping: The produced bars are weighed, stamped, and prepared for market distribution.
7. Quality Control and Packaging
- Laboratories: The quality and purity of the produced gold are examined in specialized laboratories.
- Packaging: The gold bars are packaged and prepared for sale and distribution to the market.
