Capillary electrophoretic analysis of sulfur and cyanicides speciation during cyanidation of gold complex sulfidic ores

This study presents a capillary electrophoretic protocol developed for the separation and quantification of key ion species released during the cyanidation of gold sulfide-rich ores. The method successfully separated 11 ions, including S2O32–, Cu(CN)32–, and Au(CN)2–, employing an indirect UV detection technique. The robustness of this analytical approach was validated through testing with two gold sulfide-rich ores, revealing the release of up to six complexes into solution after one hour of cyanidation. Notably, the mineralogical composition of the ores significantly influenced both the type and concentration of dissolved species. Furthermore, preserving the cyanidation solution for 72 hours post-sampling resulted in an impressive 96% recovery of total sulfur. These findings demonstrate the potential of the developed analytical protocol to enhance the optimization of precious metals cyanidation processes within industrial applications.