Treatment of and Gold Recovery from Effluent at Giant Yellowknife Mines Limited

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Abstract
The milling of refractory gold ore at Giant Yellowknife Mines Limited results in several effluent waste streams which are combined and sent to a tailings pond. Prior to being released to the environment, tailings effluent is treated to make the solution environmentally acceptable. This involves removing contaminants such as cyanide, arsenic and heavy metals. Initial investigations into various treatment processes to remove cyanide and arsenic showed that alkaline chlorination and iron salt precipitation were the best available technologies. In 1976 Giant Yellowknife Mines and Environment Canada entered into a DPAT (Development of Pollution Abatement Technology) program to investigate various treatment processes for the removal of cyanide and arsenic including those stated. In August 1981, the Effluent Treatment Plant became operational employing an “alkaline chlorination-arsenic precipitation-flocculation process. This paper describes the development of the effluent treatment process, process chemistry, plant facilities, plant practice and reviews the Effluent Treatment Plant performance over its six seasons of operation to date. Subsequent analysis of the discharge from the Effluent Treatment Plant in 1982 showed that recoverable quantities of gold were being discharged to the environment through the final decant. Laboratory testwork showed that these gold values could be effectively recovered on activated carbon by passing the decant solution through a bed of activated carbon. A description of the various carbon column configurations used as well as operational and cost analyses for each are included.

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