Abstract

JIMENEZ, G. et al. Microwave treatment for gold minerals used in small-scale mining. J. appl. res. technol [online]. 2022, vol.20, n.4, pp.399-407.  Epub May 05, 2023. ISSN 2448-6736.  https://doi.org/10.22201/icat.24486736e.2022.20.4.1771.

Gold mining in Colombia has produced wealth that has helped the social and economic development of the country. Studying its extraction process offers artisanal mining broad alternatives that are more profitable for its small-scale production. Through this research, the possibility is offered of extracting 93.10% of gold in 180 minutes from a refractory mineral of pyritic origin with economic and environmentally friendly techniques such as the use of pretreatment with microwave waves, exposing the mineral to 637 ºC for a maximum time of 4 minutes. An alternative leaching agent was used, which is thiourea, and it was handled at concentrations of 0.1 M. When extracting the gold extraction with thiourea without microwave thermal pretreatment, a low extraction percentage is shown, 19.98% of gold. After the process, the effectiveness of heat treatment could be noted as an alternative for small-scale mining where the economic factor is often the predominant cause in the design of metallurgical processes.

Keywords : gold; artisanal mining; microwave; thiourea; extraction.

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