Barrick Technology Centre

MEMORANDUM
BARRICK GOLD

TEL
(604) 682-1730
FAX
(604) 682-1767
www.barrick.com

323 Alexander Street

Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada V6A 1C4

Gold Grains size accumulated distribution (weight %)

120
110

90
80
70
60
50
40
30

Accumulated Distr (%)

100

20
10
0
0

0.52

0.62

0.73

0.87

1.2

1.45

1.75

2.4

2.8

3.4

4.1

4.8

5.7

6.8

8.1

9.6

Passing Size (um)

Figure 1: Gold grains size accumulated distribution. (Uneven curve caused by nugget gold grains and
insufficient gold grain numbers.)

3.5.2

Gold species and associations

More than 99 % of gold is native gold, with 92-99 % of Au and 1-8 % Ag. Less than 1 % of the
gold is copper silver gold.
Table 1 and Figure 2 shows that 73 % of gold is exposed, 12 % locked in FeOx which may be
leachable, 10 % locked in quartz, and 5 % locked in others (mainly rutile and alter-ilmenite). It is
expected maximum leachable gold is 85.6 % (liberated, gold in FeOx plus exposed gold). Due to
insufficient gold grain counts in the coarse fraction (+0.250-0.840 mm and +0.840 mm), the
actual maximum leachable gold may be higher than 85.6 %.
Table 1: Gold locking result (%)
Size Fraction

-0.106 mm

+0.106-0.250mm

+0.250-0.840mm

+0.840mm

Calcd head

Liberated
Exposed (attached to Qz)
Exposed (attached to FeOx)
Exposed (attached to Rutile)

18.2
7.6
55.2
13.5

4.7
48.5
25.3
0.0

0.0
48.2
0.0
6.5

25.2
41.7
0.0
7.8

Locked (in Qz)

Locked (in FeOx)
Locked (in Rutile)
Total

2.3
0.5
2.6
100

8.8
10.6
2.2
100

5.1
38.3
1.8
100

15.4
2.5
7.2
100

16
37
12
8
10
12
5
100

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MEMORANDUM

Gold Distribution
100
90
80

Locked (in
Rutile)

Distribution (%)

70
Locked (in
Qz)

60
Locked (in
FeOx)

50

Exposed
(attached to
Rutile)

40
30

Exposed
(attached to
Qz)

20

Exposed
(attached to
FeOx)

10

Liberated

1
Figure 2: Gold locking distribution (%)

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MEMORANDUM

3.5.3

Gold bearing particle image from MLA

-0.106 mm Fraction

Exposed
gold

Gold locked
in FeOx

Gold locked
in rutile

Gold locked
in quartz
-0.250+0.106 mm Fraction

Gold Minerals
Silver Minerals
Other Sulphides/FeOx
Silicates (Quartz)
Others (Rutile/alt_ilmenite)
Pyrite
Heavy minerals (Hg-minerals)
Carbonates

+0.840 mm Fraction

-0.840+0.250 mm Fraction

Figure 3: Gold bearing particle image from MLA

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MEMORANDUM

4 CONCLUSION
Quartz is the dominant mineral (97.3%), followed by trace amount of other silicate mineral,
rutile, goethite, zircon, alter-ilmenite, pyrite, copper sulphide, barite, jarosite and cinnabar.
97.8% of silver minerals are associated with quartz. 89.1 % of the silver is locked within the
quartz, whilst 8.7 % are exposed but attached quartz or in pores/cracks of the quartz. 1.7 % of
silver minerals are liberated, and remained 0.5% of silver minerals are locked in other mineral.
The average silver grain size is 1.0 m. 42% (weight) of silver mineral grains are finer than 1
m.
The quartz matrix contains pores ranging in size from <0.1 m to several micrometers. The
majority pores are small (<2 m), and about 89.6% of silver is not exposed, suggesting the
maximum leachable silver would be 10.4% for the -2 mm Veladero Type 1 ore.
Silver minerals occurs mainly as 32% of Acanthite (Ag2S), 23% of silver copper sulphide, 24%
of Capgaronnite (HgAgClS), and 11% of Schachnerite (Ag1.1Hg0.9), in minor amounts 4% of
Lenaite (AgFeS2) and 3% of (AgCuHgFe)2S, and in trace amounts as alloy (AgCd), Aguilarite
(Ag4SeS), Chloragyrite (AgCl), Geffroyite (Ag,Cu, Fe)9(Se,S)8), Naumannite (Ag2Se) and
silver.
Average of the gold grains size is approximately 2 m. 14 % (weight) of gold grain size is finer
than 1.0 m.
73% of gold is exposed, 10 % of gold is locked in quartz, 12 % of the gold is locked in FeOx
which may be leachable, and 5% locked in others (mainly rutile and alter-ilmenite). Maximum
leachable gold is likely to be 85.6% (liberated, exposed plus locked in FeOx). Due to a low gold
count in the coarse fraction, the actual maximum leachable gold may be higher than 85.6 %.
More than 99 % of gold species is native gold, which contains 92-99 % of Au and 1-8 % Ag.
Less than 1 % of the gold is copper silver gold.

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