Abstract

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This work has investigated gold cyanidation and characterization of Itagunmodi gold deposit using cyanide from cassava. The gold ore was subjected to selective removal of associated minerals, treated to varied concentrations of cyanide extracted from cassava and precipitation of the gold. The precipitated gold was characterized using optical microscope, SEM - EDX, EDXRF and XRFS. The result showed that after 24 hours of cyanidation using analar grade sodium cyanide of 60 mg/l, 10 g Itagunmodi gold ore concentrate yielded 0.096 g (96 mg) gold. Also, under the same condition, using cassava based cyanide concentration of 60 mg/l, 10 g Itagunmodi gold ore concentrate yielded 0.08 g (80 mg) gold. This work has shown that sourcing cyanide from cassava waste for gold leaching is the appropriate alternative to the conventional cyanidation.

Keywords: gold cyanidation, Itagunmodi, cassava based cyanide