A TPH (Tonnes Per Hour) gold processing plant is designed to extract gold from ore at a specific throughput rate. The design and equipment selection depend on factors like ore type, gold grade, recovery method, and environmental considerations. Below is a general outline of key components and processes for a typical gold processing plant:
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1. Plant Capacity & Ore Characteristics
– Throughput: e.g., 50 TPH, 100 TPH, 300 TPH (customizable).
– Ore Type: Hard rock (lode gold), alluvial/placer, or refractory ore.
– Gold Grade: Grams per tonne (g/t) or ounces per tonne (oz/t).
– Gangue Minerals: Presence of sulfides, quartz, or clay affecting processing.
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2. Key Processing Stages
# (A) Crushing & Grinding
– Primary Crushing: Jaw crusher or gyratory crusher (for hard rock).
– Secondary/Tertiary Crushing: Cone crusher or impact crusher.
– Grinding: Ball mill, rod mill, or SAG mill to achieve fine particle size (e.g., 75 microns for leaching).
# (B) Gravity Separation (Optional)
– For free-milling gold: Shaking tables, centrifugal concentrators (e.g., Knelson/Falcon), jigs.
– Recovers coarse gold before leaching.
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# (C) Leaching & Adsorption
– CIL (Carbon-in-Leach) / CIP (Carbon-in-Pulp):
– Ore slurry mixed with cyanide (NaCN/KCN) to dissolve gold.
– Activated carbon absorbs gold from solution.
– Electrowinning recovers gold from loaded carbon.
– Heap Leaching (for low-grade ores): Ore stacked on pads and irrigated with cyanide.
# (D) Flotation (For Sulfide Ores)
– Froth flotation to concentrate sulfide minerals before leaching.
# (E) Refining
– Smelting of electrowinning sludge to produce doré bars (~90% purity).
– Further refining via aqua regia or Miller process for 99.99% purity.
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3. Equipment List (Example for 100 TPH Plant)
| Stage | Equipment |
|—————-|———————————-|
| Crushing | Jaw crusher, cone crusher |
| Grinding
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