A series of experiments determined the influence of oxygen partial pressure and SiO$ sb2$ content in soda slag on the distribution of metals between soda slag and dore metal. Oxygen partial pressure ranged from 10$ sp{-8}$ to one atmosphere and the SiO$ sb2$ content from 0 to 10 wt%. / Minor elements, including the precious metals, partition between the dore metal and the soda slag. The main purpose of this research was to determine the process parameters which influence this distribution, and the nature and forms of the precious metals in the metal and in the slag phases. / From the results of the experiments it was found that: (a) Increasing oxygen partial pressure from 10$ sp{-8}$ to 1 atm does not influence gold, palladium and platinum removal from dore metal, but leads to the practically complete removal of Te (down to 4.8 ppm), Rh (down to 2.7 ppm), Pb (down to 6.0 ppm) and quite good removal of Se (down to 0.0112 wt%) and Cu (down to 0.42 wt%) from the dore metal. (b) Silica content of the soda slag does not influence gold, palladium and platinum chemical losses with soda slag. However it was found that increasing silica in slag leads to an increase of mechanical loss of precious metals because of the increase in slag viscosity. (c) Increase in silica content of slag increased lead and copper removal from dore metal, and decreased the removal of rhodium, selenium and tellurium, especially at low oxygen potential. (d) It was concluded that most of precious metals leave dore metal in the form of mechanical losses, but silver and rhodium were found in slags as intermetallic phases with the other components. Rhodium is also lost in the form of the volatile oxide RhO$ sb2$. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.26404 |
| Date | January 1994 |
| Creators | Luganova-Chnyrenkova, Tatiana |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Engineering (Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001429681, proquestno: MM99973, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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