The Hydrometallurgy Diagnostic – Automating Cyanide & Acid Control
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In this episode of The Mining Pulse, James and Graeme are joined by Hansie van Vreden, CEO of Process Analytical Systems (PAS). We pull back the curtain on a critical but rarely discussed element of gold and copper processing: online wet chemical analysis.
For decades, plants have relied on manual titrations to measure cyanide and acid levels, leading to subjective readings and inefficient dosing. Hansie explains how automated analyzers run titrations continuously, measuring free cyanide, WAD cyanide, and acid concentration directly.
Key Diagnostics Covered in This Episode:
•The Cost of Manual Titration: Why relying on operators to gauge color changes in a manual silver nitrate titration leads to inconsistent dosing.
•Financial & Environmental Risk: How overdosing cyanide by just 50 ppm can cost operations an extra $0.15 per ton, while underdosing risks overall gold recovery.
•WAD Cyanide & Environmental Compliance: Utilizing the picric acid method to accurately measure Weak Acid Dissociable (WAD) cyanide down to 20 parts per billion for detox management.
•Acid Control in Copper: Why directly measuring acid concentration rather than relying on pH as a proxy significantly cuts acid consumption in copper leaching.
•The Next Generation: A look at PAS's TAC 1000NG platform and the shift toward fully automated process control.
A special thank you to our episode sponsor, Africa Mining IQ.
Subscribe today to stay on the pulse.
For decades, plants have relied on manual titrations to measure cyanide and acid levels, leading to subjective readings and inefficient dosing. Hansie explains how automated analyzers run titrations continuously, measuring free cyanide, WAD cyanide, and acid concentration directly.
Key Diagnostics Covered in This Episode:
•The Cost of Manual Titration: Why relying on operators to gauge color changes in a manual silver nitrate titration leads to inconsistent dosing.
•Financial & Environmental Risk: How overdosing cyanide by just 50 ppm can cost operations an extra $0.15 per ton, while underdosing risks overall gold recovery.
•WAD Cyanide & Environmental Compliance: Utilizing the picric acid method to accurately measure Weak Acid Dissociable (WAD) cyanide down to 20 parts per billion for detox management.
•Acid Control in Copper: Why directly measuring acid concentration rather than relying on pH as a proxy significantly cuts acid consumption in copper leaching.
•The Next Generation: A look at PAS's TAC 1000NG platform and the shift toward fully automated process control.
A special thank you to our episode sponsor, Africa Mining IQ.
Subscribe today to stay on the pulse.
