Method of improving gold recovery in a cyanide leaching circuit

Abstract

This disclosure provides a method of improving gold recovery in a cyanide leaching circuit comprising a gold ore slurry. The method includes the step of providing a gold recovery additive chosen from polyacrylic acid, copolymers of acrylic acid and a sulfonated co-monomer, and combinations thereof, wherein the additive has a weight average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 10,000 g/mol. The method also includes the step of combining the gold recovery additive with the gold ore slurry in the cyanide leaching circuit, wherein the gold recovery additive is present in an amount of from about 10 to about 1000 g per ton of dry gold ore to improve the recovery of gold from the gold ore slurry.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.