Home · Technology · Gold Cyanidation Testwork
Laboratory · Bench & Pilot

Gold Cyanidation Testwork — Bench & Pilot

Bottle roll · column leach · CIL · CIP — the testwork that drives heap-leach and milling flowsheet selection

Gold cyanidation testwork is where every KCA project begins. Our Reno laboratory completes 100+ projects per year, ranging from small-scale bottle rolls (250 g) to multi-tonne column campaigns running for 6+ months. The testwork output is the foundation for every downstream engineering decision — reagent consumption, recovery, leach kinetics, particle size, and economic viability.

100+
Projects per year
41,000 ft² Reno
Lab facility
30+
Countries served
250 g – 50+ tonnes
Sample volume range

Bottle Roll Tests

The standard first-stage test — samples in KCA LIFTERBOTTLE™ rolling vessels with cyanide solution to determine recovery vs. time, cyanide consumption, and lime requirement. Typically 24–96 hour test duration.

Column Leach Tests

Heap-leach simulation in 0.3–3 m diameter columns at various heights. KCA runs columns from 2 weeks (quick-look) up to 6+ months (full bankable). Critical for heap-leach project feasibility — lifts, irrigation rate, agglomeration response, and ultimate recovery all measured here.

Diagnostic Leach

For refractory or partially-refractory ores: sequential leach with selective reagents to identify gold deportment — free-milling, cyanide-soluble, sulfide-locked, etc.

Reagent Optimization

Cyanide vs. alternative-lixiviant comparisons (where appropriate), oxygen-vs-peroxide testing, lead-nitrate activation studies, and lime/cement dosing optimization for heap stability.

Sample Preparation

In-house crushing, pulverizing, blending, and quartering. KCA Rotary Splitter (Model 9281) for representative sample division from 2,000 kg starting masses.

Pilot Operations

Where economics warrant, full pilot-plant operation — 50 kg/h flotation, 1 t/d CIP, container-mounted column-cell flotation, and pilot heap leaches. Pilot operation de-risks scale-up before capital commit.

Reference Projects

Where KCA has deployed this.

Related Capabilities

Build on the rest of the KCA stack.

Project in this space?

Talk to the right team.

Send the project details and we’ll route to the engineering lead who has done this before.

Send an Inquiry