Antam Pongkor gold mine in Indonesia evaluated Pionera L-800 biopolymer. The mine’s metallurgical staff conducted the tests and trial work on epithermal, low sulfide and clay ore with a gold content between 2 and 8 g/t.
Increase Gold Recovery and Throughput in a CIL Gold Processing Plant
The plant trial took place over three months, where Pionera L-800 was compared to non-use. Antam has two identical leach circuits fed with identical feed ore. One was treated with Pionera L-800, the other was not, and served as the control. Extensive data collected from the trial indicated a 1.3% increase in gold recovery and a 9% throughput improvement in the Pionera L-800 treated leach circuit compared to the control circuit.
This is an executive summary based on the scientific article “Biopolymer Addition to Boost Recovery and Throughput in Gold Leaching Process. A Case Study From Antam Pongkor, Indonesia” by Dr. R.A. Lauten, H. Sitanggang and A. Pratomo; MetSoc of CIM, Proceedings of Hydrometallurgy, 7th international symposium, 2014
Key takeaways:
- Use of Pionera L-800 significantly improved the process and provided an excellent return on investment for the Antam Pongkor operation.
- There were no negative downstream effects observed on the tails processing.
- Implementation of Pionera L-800 usage required minimal capital.
- The product is non-toxic and non-hazardous, making for safer storage and handling of the material.
- During continuous use, Antam identified additional benefits in milling and the gravity circuit.
Gold recovery data and overall process throughput.
