Improvement of Heap Leaching Practices in Uşak Kışladağ Gold Mine Using Limestone

Year 2025, Volume: 15 Issue: 1, 56 - 79, 30.06.2025

Aminullah Rashidi Serdar Yılmaz

https://doi.org/10.17678/beuscitech.1573807

Abstract

This study focuses on improving gold recovery from ore samples from the Uşak Kışladağ Gold Mine, specifically those sized -18+0 mm. The ore was crushed below 2.36 mm and mixed with locally abundant alkaline limestone to enhance permeability and gold dissolution efficiency. Permeability tests were conducted on the -18+0 mm and -2.36+0 mm sized ores, with results of 1.28 x 10⁻³ cm/s and 0.62 x 10⁻³ cm/s, respectively. Additionally, the -2.36 mm ore was mixed with various limestone sizes (-18+10 mm, -10+5 mm, and -5+0 mm) at ratios of 15%, 50%, 100%, 150%, and 200%. The best permeability results were observed with the -2.36+0 mm ore and -10+5 mm limestone mixture. Consequently, leaching experiments were conducted with 1:1 and 1.5:1 ratio of the -2.36+0 mm sample mixed with limestone, resulting in gold dissolution efficiencies of 63% and 53%, respectively. Furthermore, bottle-roll tests were performed on -2.36+0 mm and -75+0 μm samples for 48 hours, with gold recoveries of 64% and 83%, respectively.

Keywords

Gold Recovery , Heap Leach , Limestone , Permeability , Uşak Kışladağ

Project Number

BAP2019-98150330-01

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