MEMORANDUM

TO: Rodolfo Espinel and Scott Campbell

COPY: John McCartney, Mei Shelp and Andrew Baumen
FROM: Johnny Zhan and Steve Haggarty
DATE: May 3, 2017
SUBJECT: General Guidelines for Heap Leach Column Gold Recovery and Drain Down
Testing

Objectives
1. To determine the hydrologic properties of heap leach ore. These properties include:
 Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), determined from the particle size
distribution (PSD) curve analyses.
 Soil water characteristics curve (SWCC), determined from PSD and porosity.
 Specific gravimetric water contents, such as initial water content (Ɵi), saturated
water content (Ɵs), leach water content (Ɵl) under specified irrigation rate, and
residual (post leaching) water content (Ɵr).
2. To fit the column test results to an empirical gold recovery model that accounts for the
kinetics of gold release involving dissolution, mixed dissolution/diffusion, followed by
diffusion and physical solution transport.
3. To apply hydrologic properties for respective heap leach ore lithologies to the
operational water balance and drain down model.
4. To extend the calibrated empirical model from heap leach column tests to a gold
recovery model for an operational heap, considering ore stacking and solution
management plans.
5. To evaluate gold recovery relative to heap leach ore granulometry (particle size).
6. To evaluate gold recovery relative to variable irrigation rates.

Head Sample Analyses

Prior to column leach testing, perform the following tests on representative ore material
samples:
1. Determine initial ore water content of bulk samples by wet versus oven dry analysis.
2. Complete - #10 mesh 96 hour cyanidation bottle rolls to simulate the performance of 90
day heap leach column as well as full scale heap leach Au recoveries. (Test protocols
should apply pH >10.5 with CNFREE levels maintained at >250 ppm).
3. Head sample fractional analysis to #200 mesh applying the following recommended
screen sizes: 1.5” (38100 µ), 0.75" (19050 µ), #4 (4750 µ), #10 (2000 µ), #42 (430 µ),
#100 (150 µ), #200 mesh (75 µ).
4. Total Au assay on respective head sample size fractions to determine Au associated
with each fraction.

Column Leach Testing

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The column/crib height should be about 3 m. If cribs are assembled together, except the base
crib, the bottoms of other cribs should be removed.
Column leach testing involves applying NaCN leach solution to the top of a column/crib packed
with ore material, collecting solution exiting the bottom of the column to a storage tank and
analyzing solution for Au and other parameters of interest over time. To simulate field
conditions, test materials in the column should have the same bulk density as in field conditions
(1.60 t/m3 of dry bulk density) and being irrigated at same rate as in filed operation (i.e., 10, 15
or 20 l/m2/hr).
General steps for packing and leaching the column include:
1. Install a water tight outflow tube at the bottom of the column for collection of pregnant
liquor solution (PLS).
2. Install a fibrous glass wool membrane at the base of the heap leach column to avoid the
flushing of fines that may contain Au values and would otherwise be unleached.
3. Add ore to the column in 0.3 m lifts, packed to the expected ore bulk density. This
achieved by calculating the mass needed per lift volume for the ore bulk density (i.e.
1600 kg/m3).
4. Measure the final height of ore in the column.
5. To avoid solution flow preferentially along the wall of the heap leach column, an inert
glass wool membrane should be applied to the top of the heap leach column to promote
even solution distribution.
6. At the top of the column place a sprinkler head that is designed to uniformly apply water
to the top surface of the ore.
7. Apply solution to the top of the column delivering a constant flux at the target irrigation
rate with a peristaltic pump.
8. Collect PLS exiting the outflow tube into a tank. Regularly test for pH, Na+, CN-, and Au
(i.e. every 24 hours).
9. After assaying, the solution is passed through activated carbon to recover the Au in
solution.
10. After passing through activated carbon, the barren solution should be re-assayed for
pH, Na+, CN-, and Au. This will help us track consumption of NaCN and lime addition.
11. The column leaching time should be extended out over a period of 120 days. The
effective tonnes solution/tonnes solids data generated from the column will provide an
ability to calibrate against increased leach pad heights. It should be kept in mind at +19
mm particle size that gold dissolution, dissolution/diffusion, and straight diffusion
kinetics are time dependent requiring outwards of 90 days leaching time to achieve full
metal release relative to a full scale heap.
12. Measure the final height of ore in the heap leach column to calculate ore slump.

Drain Down Measurements

At completion of the column leach test, the drain down of the ore material is tested using the
following procedure:
1. The drain down rate of solution from the column is then measured by continuously
weighing solution in the collection tank at a minimum of every 4 hours for the period of

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0- 24 hours, then every 8 hours for the period of 24 – 48 hours, and every 24 hours
after 48 hours until the cumulative volume change becomes negligible.

Tails Analysis
At the completion of the drain down test, remove the ore from the column while collecting grab
samples at various depths to measure retained solution content. Oven dry the entire heap leach
residue sample (including grab samples taken at varying depth for moisture analysis) and
subject the heap leach residue samples to:
1. Same fractional size analysis as in the “Head Sample Analyses”.
2. Complete Au assay on the same size fractions as “Head Sample Analyses” to
determine Au associated with each size fraction.
3. Same Au assay on bulk sample as “Head Sample Analyses” to determine gold in tails.

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