The Benefits of using Aachen High Shear Reactors in gold tailings reprocessing from laboratory and plant elevations

The Aachen High Shear Reactor is a highly efficient oxygen mass transfer and shear device. The findings from two tailings reprocessing sites utilising Aachen technology are discussed. For both sites, extensive laboratory testwork was conducted using the Aachen reactor. These results were subsequently compared to the actual plant performance over a period of time. Site A achieved a 2.82% increase in gold recovery from 41.55% to 44.37% after implementing Aachen pre-oxidation, with testwork showing that a 2.35% improvement was possible. Site B achieved a gold recovery improvement of 6.13% from 34.94% to 41.08% with a reduction in cyanide consumption of ~33% after increasing the installed Aachen reactors from two to three. The laboratory testwork conducted indicated a benefit of 3.23% in gold recovery and a reduction of 4% in cyanide consumption. From these observations, it is evident that the combination of shear and highly efficient oxygen mass transfer achieved through the use of the Aachen reactor assists in the improved reprocessing economics of gold tailings material. It is also clear that any benefits observed during testwork are typically exceeded on an industrial scale.