THE ELECTROCHEMICAL STUDY ON THE DISSOLUTION BEHAVIOR OF GOLD IN AMMONIACAL SOLUTIONS AT TEMPERATURES ABOVE 100-DEGREES-C

In an attempt to replace the traditional cyanide process of extracting gold, a new technology using ammoniacal solutions has been developed. In this study, the electrochemical behavior of gold in ammoniacal sol utions at temperatures above 100 degrees C has been investigated. An e lectrochemical cell in an autoclave has been introduced to carry out t his study. The system consists of a gold working electrode, a platinum counterelectrode, and an external saturated calomel electrode (SCE) w hich is connected to the autoclave system through a birch wood plug. T echniques used in this study included potentiodynamic polarization, ga lvanostatic polarization, cyclic voltammetry, and Tafel polarization. The electrochemical reaction mechanisms governing the dissolution proc ess are presented.