Siemens filter presses to help in gold recovery
Siemens Water Technologies is providing seven filter presses for Barrick/Fluor-Techint’s gold and silver recovery project at the Pascua-Lama mine, located on the Chilean/Argentinean border. The J-Press filter presses (Fig.) will be used during the last phase of the Merrill-Crowe process, which is a zinc dust precipitation method used to separate gold, as well as silver, from a cyanide solution. The filter presses will help recover precipitated gold and silver over a six-day timeframe per filtration cycle. Six of the filter presses will each handle a flow rate of 1675 m3/h. The seventh, which is much smaller, will be used to filter wash water from cleaning the filter cloths and floor of the process room. Located in the foothills of the AndesMountains, the Pascua-Lama mine is believed to be the world’s first bi-national gold mining project, with 75 % of the ore body in Chile and the remaining 25 % in Argentina. With an estimated mine life of more than 25 years, Pascua-Lama has proven and probable reserves of 17.8 million oz. (504,63 t) of gold, with 717.6 million oz. (20 343,96 t) of silver contained within the gold reserves. The mining project is expected to be commissioned in late 2012, with first gold anticipated 2013.
Siemens AG, Industry Sector – Industry Solutions Division, Erlangen (D), Tel.: +49 9131 7-0, www.siemens.com/water
