Leaching and Cyanidation

Leaching and Cyanidation: A Practitioner’s Handbook

By Tony Escorcio - Mineral Process Engineering Series

Cyanidation remains the cornerstone of modern gold extraction — a process simple in principle yet demanding in practice. Leaching and Cyanidation: A Practitioner’s Handbook bridges the gap between chemistry and plant operation, guiding metallurgists, engineers, and students through the fundamentals, kinetics, reagent management, and circuit design that determine recovery and cost.

This book explains not only what to do, but why it works. The handbook covers:

• Gold dissolution chemistry and cyanide speciation
• Oxygen supply and rate‑limiting steps
• Diagnostic and agitated‑leach testwork
• Refractory and preg‑robbing ores
• Reagent consumption and optimization
• Circuit design, troubleshooting, and cyanide management
• Safety, environmental control, and the International Cyanide Management Code

Supported by a companion Excel workbook and detailed appendices, this volume turns theory into calculation and practice. It is written for the working metallurgist — quantitative where it must be, practical throughout.