Carbon-in-Leach (CIL) Process: A Combined Leaching and Adsorption Method
The Carbon-in-Leach (CIL) process is an efficient gold extraction method that integrates leaching and adsorption into a single operational step. Instead of using separate tanks, the leaching tanks are equipped with carbon retention screens, eliminating the need for a dedicated carbon-in-pulp (CIP) circuit. In this process, activated carbon is introduced directly into the leach tanks, allowing for the nearly simultaneous dissolution of gold by cyanide and its immediate adsorption onto the carbon.
This method is particularly advantageous for processing gold ores containing native carbon (often present as organic matter). The native carbon can prematurely adsorb the dissolved gold (a phenomenon known as “preg-robbing”), leading to significant gold losses and lower recovery rates. In the CIL process, the added activated carbon acts as a preferential adsorbent, effectively competing with the native carbon to capture the gold. This ensures that the gold is successfully loaded onto the activated carbon, from which it can later be recovered through a stripping process.
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