Simulation-Based Analysis of Hydrometallurgical Processes. Case Study: Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ecuador

Abstract

In this work, two hydrometallurgical processes for gold recovery are explored for a small-scale gold mining case study located at Ponce Enriquez, Azuay, Ecuador. The hydrometallurgical systems consider the use of sodium cyanide and sodium thiosulfate as leaching agents, with and without the incorporation of a subsystem for residual mercury removal. The proposed processes are modelled using the commercial simulator PRO/II interconnected with a Python scientific computing environment for performing stochastic simulations. Monte Carlo simulations, in which the conversion of the main units and the prices of gold vary following a random uniform distribution, permit observing the effects of these uncertainties on key recovery and economic indicators. The results facilitate the correlation between the inputs and outputs of interest as well as the visualization of the outputs variability for an adequate assessment of the systems under study by following a technical and social responsibility approach.