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J.A. SAWICKI, J.E. DUTRIZAC, J. FRIEDL, F.E. WAGNER, and T.T. CHEN
Copper refinery anode slimes are abundantly produced during the electrolytic refining of copper.
Although the slimes contain significant and economically recoverable amounts of gold and silver, the chemical state of the gold has not been fully identified. In the present work, the chemical form of gold in a copper anode, in a raw slime, and in slimes treated by different leaching
procedures has been investigated by Mrssbauer spectroscopy with the 77.3 keV y-rays of 197Au.
The Mrssbauer spectrum of the anode is typical of a dilute Au:Cu alloy. The spectrum of the
raw slime consists of two components, namely, a single, rather broad line with an isomer shift
(IS) of about - 0 . 3 m m / s relative to a Pt metal source and a quadrupole doublet with an IS of
+ 1.2 m m / s and a quadrupole splitting of 5.0 mm/s. The single line component can be attributed to a gold-rich alloy, with an approximate composition of Au60Ag40 or AusoCu20 if it is a
binary alloy, or to a ternary Au-Ag-Cu alloy of appropriate composition. The parameters of the
quadrupole doublet match those of Ag3AuSe2 (fischesserite) or related Ag2_xAuxSe compounds.
In these compounds, the gold atoms are coordinated by two selenium atoms in a linear arrangement, as is typical for Au(I). It was found that the ratio between the concentrations of the
metallic phase and the selenide strongly depends on the leaching conditions. The measurement
of the Lamb-Mrssbauer factor of fischesserite is also reported.
I.
INTRODUCTION
residue. Selenium is next eliminated by a selective volatilization process at elevated temperature. The resulting
Au- and Ag-rich product is smelted to yield an Au-Ag
alloy for further refining. The initial "decopperizing" step
is sometimes carried out in air-agitated tanks at ambient
pressure, although the process is more effectively conducted using O2 at elevated temperatures and pressures
in an autoclave. The success of the "decopperizing" process and the reactions that occur in that step impact significantly on the remainder of the anode slime treatment
process.
In many refineries, the value of the gold by-product
is 25 to 50 pct of that of the produced copper.t2'3] Despite
the economic importance of gold to the copper refining
industry, the behavior of this element during electrorefining is not well understood. There are uncertainties
concerning the form of Au in both the as-cast anodes
and the anode slimes, and the reactions of gold in the
refining cells are largely speculative. Because a knowledge of the forms of Au could impact directly on the
processing options for Au recovery from the anode slimes,
various mineralogical studies have been undertaken. [3'4]
These studies indicated that Au in the anode slimes occurs
as < 1 /xm grains of metallic gold and as tiny particles
of Au-Ag-Cu selenide. The small particle sizes of the
gold carriers precluded a definitive mineralogical characterization, and thus, recourse was taken to Mrssbauer
methods to confirm the mineralogical observations and
to shed additional light on the gold phases present.
Mrssbauer spectroscopy of the 77.3 keV y-rays in 197Au
has been used for the characterization of gold compounds, 15,6,71 alloys, t8,91 and more recently, gold
minerals. [10,11,12]
II.
EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUE
A. Materials
A commercial copper anode (sample 1) and an airdried raw anode slime were obtained from the copper
VOLUME 24B, JUNE 1993--457
A. Mineralogical Observations
Although the copper anode was extensively examined,
no discrete gold phases were detected. In particular, no
Au-bearing selenides were found, and electron microprobe analysis of many of the copper selenide particles
did not detect gold at the 250 ppm Au minimum detection limit. No inclusions of metallic gold were observed,
and gold rims on other inclusion phases were not evident. Proton-induced X-ray emission analysis (PIXE) of
the copper metal matrix consistently detected Au in solid
solution in the copper. Although the analytical errors associated with this technique make a definitive statement
about the deportment of Au in the anode difficult, the
implication is that all of the gold occurs in solid solution
in the copper metal matrix.
Two gold-bearing phases were detected during the
mineralogical study of the raw anode slimes. The most
common occurrence is <1 /xm spikelike gold grains,
which are commonly attached to particles of Ag-Cu selenide. These grains appear to form during the electrolytic dissolution of the anode from the gold originally in
solid solution in the copper. [3.15] As the copper dissolves
electrochemically, gold becomes concentrated at the surface of the anode. Eventually, a gold phase nucleates
from the Au-Cu solid solution and grows into the small
spikelike particles visible in Figure 1. The SEM-EDX
B. Mineralogical Methods
The anode slimes were examined in a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy-dispersive X-ray
analyzer (SEM-EDX) to determine the phases present.
The wavelength-dispersive spectrometer of the electron
microprobe was used to locate Au-rich regions, which
were then examined in detail by the SEM-EDX system.
Where possible, the electron microprobe was used to estimate the compositions of the Au-bearing phases. Details of all of the mineralogical methods were recently
reported. [14]
C. Mdssbauer Spectroscopy
Mrssbauer spectroscopy of the 77.3 keV y-rays in 197Au
was used to determine the chemical form of gold in the
anode and anode slimes samples. Obtaining high-quality
Table I.
Sample
1. Copper anode
2. Raw anode slimes
3, H2SO4 leached
4. HzSO4/NaC1 leached
5. H2SO4 leached at 150 ~
(--) Not analyzed.
458--VOLUME 24B, JUNE 1993
Cu
Ag
Se
Te
Ni
Pb
SiO2
Ba
Au
Pt
Pd
-99
13.2
0.05
0.12
0.05
0.21
21.2
21.4
24.2
36.9
0.11
9.9
5.9
13.0
13.8
-1.3
0.7
0.7
1.3
0.13
0.4
0.01
0.08
0.03
0.05
--20
15.2
15.6
11.1
--5.7
4.0
--
--0.9
0.6
--
0.006
0.51
0.99
0.82
4.06
--0.03
0.03
--
--0.35
0.30
--
METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS B
to 12.5 pct Au, 30.5 to 37.7 pct Ag, 8.8 to 14.5 pct Cu,
and 21.2 to 25.2 pct Se. There is a large analytical uncertainty in the electron microprobe analyses because of
the very small size of the gold selenide particles. Nevertheless, the data suggest an approximate formula of
Au(Ag,Cu)sSes; i.e., M2 xSe. Also, a Ag3AuSe2 phase
(fischesserite) was detected in sample 5 by both X-ray
diffraction analysis and S E M / E D X study.
The gold-containing selenide phase does not seem to
occur in the copper anode. This suggests that the gold
present in alloy form in the anode dissolves and then
diffuses a short distance into the anode slime layer, where
it reacts with the selenide particles to make the AuAg-Se selenide phase (Eqs. [1] through [3]). This limited degree of Au mobility has important ramifications
for the understanding of the copper refining process.
Fig. l - - B a c k s c a t t e r e d electron micrograph of several tube like particles of AgCuSe in the raw anode slimes. Several < 1-/xm spikelike
gold grains (arrows) are attached to the surface of the selenide (loose
powder mount).
Fig. 2 - - Backscattered electron micrograph of a porous mass o f precipitated oxidate phase present in the raw anode slimes. The bright
phase marked by the arrow is Au-Ag-Cu selenide (loose powder mount).
METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS B
B. MiSssbauer Observations
The information about the chemical state of gold obtained by Mrssbauer spectroscopy stems mainly from
electric quadrupole interaction and from the IS of the
Mrssbauer pattern. The former splits the Mrssbauer line
of 197Auinto a doublet whose separation, the quadrupole
splitting (QS), depends on both the symmetry and the
degree of covalency of the bonds between the gold atoms
and their ligands. The IS is a measure of the electron
density at the gold nuclei. Both the electron density at
the gold nuclei and the IS increase with the valence state
of gold and with the covalency of the bonds between
gold and its ligands. For the linear twofold coordinated
Au(l) compounds, as well as for the planar fourfold coordinated Au(III) compounds, distinctive and approximately linear correlations between the electric QS and
the IS have been found. [6.7] Using these correlations, the
valence state of gold in such compounds can be determined from the observed values of the IS and the QS.
For bonding situations that deviate from the twofold linear or fourfold planar coordination, however, a distinction between Au(I) and Au(llI) on the basis of Mrssbauer
spectroscopy is difficult, the more so since the sign of
the electric quadrupole interaction, which is expected to
be negative for linear Au(I) and positive for planar Au(ILI)
compounds, 171 cannot normally be determined.
The 197Au MOssbauer spectrum of the copper anode
containing 61 ppm Au is shown in Figure 3. The absorber used in this measurement had a thickness of 1.9
g / c m 2 of the anode material. The spectrum consists of
a single, broadened line at +2.79 mm/s. This value is
in good agreement with the value of the IS for an alloy
of 1 at. pct Au in Cu (Table II and Figure 4). The spectrum of the anode presumably represents gold dissolved
in the copper matrix but associated with other impurities
that cause both the line broadening (W = 2.88 m m / s for
the anode vs W = 2.02 m m / s for the reference 1 at. pct
Au in Cu alloy). No other form of gold, and in particular
neither unalloyed metallic gold nor gold selenides, could
be detected in the M6ssbauer spectrum of the anode material within the statistical accuracy of the measurement.
This finding is in agreement with the mineralogical
observations.
The 197Au Mrssbauer spectra of the four anode slime
samples studied are shown in Figure 3, and the relevant
VOLUME 24B, JUNE 1993--459
~176
~ 9
* **
*** **
9 ~
9 . 9
.....
o
o
~
o
_
~
99.96-
*o
o
o
#1
9
o
100-
99.7-
--.,
100
100
.o
o
?.
"~
92
99. #3
100'
lO0 . . . .
**. r~-"~'-~w-"
oo
=
O
99.
99.4"
"4~
#4
t~
o
100
o
99
99.6o
Velocity (ram/s)
197
460--VOLUME
2 4 B , J U N E 1993
:8
6
Velocity ( r a m / s )
Fig. 4--197Au MOssbauer spectra of some reference materials: Aumetal, fischesserite Ag3AuSe2, and 1 pct Au:Cu.
METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS B
Table II.
Mssbauer Results for the Investigated Copper Anode, Anode Slimes, and Some Reference Materials*
Sample
1. Copper anode
2. Raw anode slime
3. H2504 leached
4. H2SOa/NaC1
5. H2SO4 leached at 150 ~
6. Ag3AuSez synthetic
7. Agl.sAu0.2Se
8. 1 at. pct Au in Cu
9. 1 at. pct Au in Ag
IS
(ram/s)
QS
(ram/s)
W
(mm/s)
RI
(pct)
CA~
(pct)
+2.79(10)
+1.22(4)
-0.30(10)
+1.18(9)
-0.91(7)
+1.23(2)
0.46(29)
+ 1.27(2)
+1.20(1)
+1.28(5)
+2.79(2)
+2.75
+0.68(1)
-5.03(6)
-5.13(16)
-5.02(4)
-5.14(3)
4.96(3)
4.99(5)
--
2.88(44)
2.03(10)
2.94(50)
1.91(14)
2.27(15)
1.99(65)
1.99
2.10(4)
1.94(2)
2.08(8)
2.02(4)
100
73(3)
27(3)
44(3)
56(3)
97(1)
3(1)
100
100
100
100
88.5
11.5
69.2
30.8
98.6
1.4
100
100
100
100
--
1.90(4)
100
100
Identification
Au in Cu
Ag3AuSe2**
Au59Ag41or Au76Cu23
Ag3AuSe2**
Au86Ag14 or Au92Cu8
Ag3AuSe2**
Au26Ag74 or AussCu42
Ag3AuS%**
References 11, 12, 20
Reference 19
this work
Reference 8
this work
*IS is the isomer shift relative to the source of Au in Pt metal; QS, the electric quadrupole splitting; W, the FWHM line width; RL, the
relative intensity of the respective components in the Mrssbauer spectra; and CAothe relative concentration of gold in the different phases. Figures
in parentheses indicate the uncertainty in the last digit(s) reported.
**Related Ag-Cu-Se selenides are also possible.
On the other hand, leaching in a H 2 S O 4 q- NaC1 solution converted virtually all of the gold into selenide
form. Although gold is considered to be insoluble in sulfuric acid media, the presence of chloride could cause
some solubility of that element under oxidizing conditions and its subsequent precipitation as a gold-silver selenide. Although speculative, the reactions involved could
be of the generalized type
Au + 0.2502 + H + ~ Au + + 0 . 5 H 2 0
[1]
Au + + L - ~ AuL
[2]
[3]
IV.
CONCLUSIONS
The 197Au Mrssbauer analysis of a copper anode revealed only gold in solution with copper, but the gold
seems to be associated with other impurities. All of the
studied anode slimes contained fischesserite, Ag3AuSe2,
or a related selenide possibly also containing copper, in
addition to a gold alloy component. Further Mrssbauer
work on well-characterized Au-Ag-Cu selenides is needed
to decide whether, or to what extent, Mrssbauer spectroscopy can distinguish between different compounds of
this type.
The presence of gold-silver selenides in the slimes
conf'u-ms earlier mineralogical observations. It was found
that the ratio between the concentrations of the metallic
phase and of fischesserite strongly depends on the leaching conditions. The Mrssbauer results suggest that metallic gold dissolves during the leaching of the anode
slimes and that dissolved gold reacts with preexisting
Ag2Se to form a fischesserite-like compound. These reactions could certainly be clarified by the M6ssbauer
method from more systematic laboratory leaching experiments carried out on more Au-rich slimes.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank the CCR Refinery of
Noranda Copper Smelting and Refining and the Noranda
Technology Centre for supplying the samples used in this
study, for providing information on the samples, and
for encouraging the publication of this work. This work
has been funded,
in part, by the Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft and AECL Research.
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METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS B