The first gold is the result of early industry trials of CSIRO’s
‘going for gold’ technology and was produced in partnership with small
gold miner Eco Minerals Research at a demonstration plant in the Western
Australian goldfields town of Menzies.
Cyanide is used in more than 90% of global gold production, but
producers are facing increasingly tough regulations that prevent or
restrict its use due to environmental and health concerns. In response
to recent spills of toxic cyanide, several regional agencies in the US,
South America and Europe have banned the use of cyanide for gold
extraction. This new technology replaces cyanide with thiosulphate, a
non-toxic alternative, and a simple process flowsheet.
It could be a game-changer for Eco Minerals Research which has its
sights set on becoming the first Australian producer to go cyanide-free.
“The first gold is a major milestone in our progress towards becoming
one of the world’s first green gold producers,” Eco Minerals Research
Managing Director Paul Hanna said. “In close collaboration with CSIRO
we’ve gone through the design, engineering and fabrication stages and
set up a processing facility in Menzies, delivering the first gold pour
in just 10 months, which is a fantastic achievement.”
The CSIRO research team behind the innovation has already had
commercial success with another tailored cyanide-free gold solution
developed with Barrick Gold specifically for their Goldstrike mine in
Nevada where it has been used for nearly four years to maintain
production rates.
The A$2.1 million demonstration project was made possible through
A$860,000 in funding from the Science and Industry Endowment fund (SIEF)
and an Australian Government Innovation Connections grant.
“Science enabling industry and environment to be partners not
competitors, exactly as envisioned in our market vision – turning
commodities into higher value, uniquely Australian products,” CSIRO
Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall said. “It has been accelerated through
CSIRO’s ON program, and could be a game-changer for small gold
producers or those looking to get ahead of increasing market demand for
greener commodities.
“Early industry trials like this are critical to innovation and go to
the heart of CSIRO’s mission to tackle big, real-world challenges and
unlock a better future for everyone.”
To reduce economic barriers to entry for small producers and help
turn stranded gold deposits into production, CSIRO’s vision is to
deliver the alternative process technology direct to mine sites via a
mobile service.
A typical cyanide-based processing plant costs around $30 million,
whereas the new technology has a lower capital investment costing as
little as $2-2.5 million to build.
The picture shows lead scientist Paul Breuer holding up a 1 oz
commemorative gold ingot from the first gold pour using CSIRO’s
cyanide-free process.