Mining in Kalgoorlie
There are multiple active gold mines currently running in Kalgoorlie due to the gold deposits found underground in the area. The mines include; Daisy Milano Gold Mine, Frog's Leg Gold Mine, Super Pit Gold Mine, Kanowna Belle Gold Mine, Paddington Gold Mine, Randalls Gold Mine, South Kalgoorlie Gold Mine and White Foil Gold Mine. The majority of these mining sights are open pit, while the minority are underground.
Open pit mines are generally less expensive, safer, easier to construct and most efficient when possible. While underground mines require complex ventilation systems, area and local ground support as well as transportation of material to and from the surface. This explains why the majority of gold mines in Kalgoorlie …show more content…
Flotation: To collect the gold, chemicals are added to the slurry to gather it into a concentrate form. The chemicals attach to certain minerals in the slurry and the slurry is then pumped into large tanks known as flotation cells. Air is then added to the bottom of the cells to rise through the slurry picking up the hydrophobic chemicals added earlier. Once it reaches the surface, it creates a froth which contains all the gold and fool’s gold. Once the froth becomes full, it spills over the flotation cell and is caught by the launder, where contents are pumped into storage tanks. Eventually these substances are passed over a vacuum filter to remove the water leaving only the high-grade solids which are loaded into trucks and sent for further treatment. All material that didn’t become froth is known as tailings (slurry with a low gold concentration) and goes to a large storage dam, but first must go through a process called CIL (step 5).
4. Roasting: Solids are mixed with water to make slurry that is pumped into 2 large roasters. Here the substance is put under a very high temperature (over 600 degrees Celsius) to convert the concentrated from flotation into a red calcine. The concentrates become red calcine by the water from the slurry and sulphur dioxide gas rising and escaping through a large stack moving into the atmosphere.
5. CIL: Stands for carbon in leach. Chemicals to dissolve the gold are added and then collected on carbon (because of its large surface area and can absorb large amounts of
There are multiple active gold mines currently running in Kalgoorlie due to the gold deposits found underground in the area. The mines include; Daisy Milano Gold Mine, Frog's Leg Gold Mine, Super Pit Gold Mine, Kanowna Belle Gold Mine, Paddington Gold Mine, Randalls Gold Mine, South Kalgoorlie Gold Mine and White Foil Gold Mine. The majority of these mining sights are open pit, while the minority are underground.
Open pit mines are generally less expensive, safer, easier to construct and most efficient when possible. While underground mines require complex ventilation systems, area and local ground support as well as transportation of material to and from the surface. This explains why the majority of gold mines in Kalgoorlie …show more content…
Flotation: To collect the gold, chemicals are added to the slurry to gather it into a concentrate form. The chemicals attach to certain minerals in the slurry and the slurry is then pumped into large tanks known as flotation cells. Air is then added to the bottom of the cells to rise through the slurry picking up the hydrophobic chemicals added earlier. Once it reaches the surface, it creates a froth which contains all the gold and fool’s gold. Once the froth becomes full, it spills over the flotation cell and is caught by the launder, where contents are pumped into storage tanks. Eventually these substances are passed over a vacuum filter to remove the water leaving only the high-grade solids which are loaded into trucks and sent for further treatment. All material that didn’t become froth is known as tailings (slurry with a low gold concentration) and goes to a large storage dam, but first must go through a process called CIL (step 5).
4. Roasting: Solids are mixed with water to make slurry that is pumped into 2 large roasters. Here the substance is put under a very high temperature (over 600 degrees Celsius) to convert the concentrated from flotation into a red calcine. The concentrates become red calcine by the water from the slurry and sulphur dioxide gas rising and escaping through a large stack moving into the atmosphere.
5. CIL: Stands for carbon in leach. Chemicals to dissolve the gold are added and then collected on carbon (because of its large surface area and can absorb large amounts of