CHEESA: Chemical Engineering Research Articles
Vol. 9 No. 1 (2026): In Progress

Extraction of Gold Through Leaching Using NaOCN Leaching Reagent from the Tailings Leach Process of Refractory Gold Ore

Sitti Ratmi Nurhawaisyah (Universitas Muslim Indonesia)
Nurliah Jafar (Montanuniversität Leoben)
Mubdiana Arifin (Universitas Muslim Indonesia)
Andi Artiningsih (Universitas Muslim Indonesia)
La Ifa (Universitas Muslim Indonesia)
Muhammad Ramli (Universitas Muslim Indonesia)
Suriyanto Bakri (Institut Teknologi Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie)



Article Info

Publish Date
23 Oct 2026

Abstract

Gold is increasingly extracted from low-grade and complex ores, commonly referred to as refractory gold ores, as high-grade reserves become progressively depleted. These ores are difficult to process through conventional methods, as direct cyanidation consumes a substantial amount of cyanide but typically achieves gold extraction rates of only 50–80%. The limitation is especially significant for small- and medium-scale mining operations that are not aware of developments in refractory gold ore processing. Several mines in Indonesia continue to apply direct cyanidation, leaving substantial quantities of gold in the resulting tailings. Re-leaching these tailings offers an opportunity to recover residual gold and reduce the need for new mining. Therefore, this study aimed to re-leach the tailings from a direct cyanidation process of refractory gold ore using NaCN for 33 hours at ambient temperature and pH 12. The extraction efficiency was compared with alternative reagents based on NaOCN and a mixture of NaOCN + NaCN. To evaluate the efficiency of gold extraction through leaching, analyses were performed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). The results showed that the best experiments extracted up to 71% gold using 0.1% NaCN + 0.5% NaOCN reagent. This mixture can be used as a reference in the search and development of other leaching reagents that are cheaper and environmentally friendly.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

cheesa

Publisher

Subject

Chemical Engineering, Chemistry & Bioengineering Chemistry

Description

CHEESA: Chemical Engineering Research Articles is scientific journal that publishes articles in the field of Chemical Engineering, Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Physical Chemistry. It is a journal to encourage research publication to research ...