:: ReCYN III Not a Fool’s Gold in Processing

Reduction in cyanide purchased for gold recovery is not wishful thinking. GreenGold Technology tells Australian Mining about the technology that could revolutionise gold process plants.

GreenGold Technology is not afraid to tackle the negativity surrounding cyanide in gold processing plants head-on.

Cyanide is still considered the best lixiviant for gold, and alternative processes have their problems, according to GreenGold chief executive Malcolm Roy Paterson.

With over one million tonnes of cyanide consumed each year in thousands of gold mines around the world, the gold plant effluent is sometimes discharged without adequate detoxification.

This action is mainly due to the high cost of conventional detox processes. Any significant failure or leakage from the storage facility compounds the negativity associated with cyanide usage.

In response, GreenGold has commercialised a resin-based technology that can reduce the overall cost and use of cyanide in gold projects by 50 per cent, producing a thoroughly decontaminated tailings stream from the process plant.

“Back in the 1990s, we were developing a variant of ReCYN technology for gold recovery, but we had mixed success with that,” Paterson tells Australian Mining.

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