AN-U-073
Sulfur speciation in mining leachate by ion chromatography appling a perchlorate eluent and UV/VIS detection
Summary
In gold mining, there is a tendency to switch from cyanide leaching to the much less toxic thiosulfate leaching process. Thiosulfate leaching is a sensitive process that requires more optimization of the components of the leach reaction to maximize gold recovery and reagent loss. Sulfite, thiosulfate, thiocyanate, and tetrathionate are separated on a Metrosep A Supp 5 - 250/4.0 column. Perchlorate is choosen as an eluent as most of the metal perchlorates are soluble in water. This avoids metal precipitation in the IC System.
