New breakthrough tech helps extract gold by recycling toxic cyanide

Scientists at Australia’s CSIRO have developed a new Sustainable Gold Cyanidation Technology that improves gold recovery by recycling toxic cyanide used in mining. This process, recently completed in a month-long lab-scale pilot, aims to reduce environmental and health risks associated with cyanide spills, which have historically caused significant ecological damage, such as the 2000 Aural Gold Mine disaster in Romania. Unlike current industry practices that destroy residual cyanide, this technology recovers cyanide and other toxic compounds, as well as some base metals and valuables typically lost in tailings, potentially lowering costs and hazards related to cyanide transport and storage. The researchers are now seeking industry partners to advance to larger-scale field demonstrations. This innovation builds on CSIRO’s previous work, including the ‘Going for Gold’ cyanide-free extraction process using thiosulphate, which has been commercially adopted by Clean Mining. The new cyanidation technology promises greater economic and environmental benefits beyond existing cyanide recovery methods, with the potential