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What is the process of mining and extraction of gold and molybdenum?

The extraction and mining processes for gold and molybdenum have distinct techniques, given their different physical and chemical properties. Here is a summary of each:

Gold Mining and Extraction

  1. Exploration and Discovery: Geological surveys, sampling, and drilling are conducted to locate deposits of gold.

  2. Mining Methods: Depending on the deposit, either open-pit or underground mining techniques are employed.

    • Open-Pit Mining: Involves digging a large hole to remove gold-bearing ore.
    • Underground Mining: Tunnels or shafts are dug into the earth to reach the ore.
  3. Ore Extraction: The gold-bearing rock is extracted using explosives and heavy machinery.

  4. Crushing and Grinding: The ore is crushed and ground to release the gold particles.

  5. Concentration: Several methods can be used to concentrate the gold:

    • Gravity Separation: Uses the difference in density between gold and other minerals.
    • Flotation: Air bubbles are used to attach gold particles and float them to the surface for collection.
  6. Leaching: The concentrated ore is treated with chemicals to dissolve and separate gold.

    • Cyanidation: A common process where cyanide solution is used to dissolve gold.
  7. Carbon Adsorption: Gold is absorbed onto activated carbon particles.

  8. Electrowinning or Merrill-Crowe Process: The gold is stripped from the carbon and concentrated into dore bars.

  9. Refining: The dore bars undergo further processing to remove impurities and achieve high purity gold.

Molybdenum Mining and Extraction

  1. Exploration and Discovery: Geologists perform surveys and drilling to locate molybdenum deposits, often found in porphyry deposits alongside other metals like copper.

  2. Mining Methods: Open-pit mining is commonly used, especially when molybdenum is a by-product of copper mining.

  3. Ore Extraction: Earthmoving equipment, blasting, and drilling are used to extract the ore.

  4. Crushing and Grinding: The ore is crushed and ground to break the rock and release molybdenum minerals.

  5. Flotation: Flotation techniques are utilized to selectively separate molybdenum from other minerals.

    • Primary Flotation: Molybdenite (molymdenum sulfide) is floated using a combination of chemicals and air bubbles.
  6. Roasting (if needed): Depending on the purity and market requirements, the molybdenite concentrate may be roasted in furnaces to produce molybdenum oxide.

  7. Hydrometallurgy: Sometimes, ore is processed via chemical methods to dissolve and purify the molybdenum.

  8. Reduction: Molybdenum oxide is reduced using hydrogen gas or carbon to obtain pure molybdenum metal.

  9. Refining: Further refining processes may be applied to achieve high-purity molybdenum.

Each step in the mining process is crucial to efficiently and safely extract and process these valuable minerals.

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