Mineralogical characteristics and treatment of refractory gold oresMineralogical characteristics and treatment of refractory gold ores Peer-Reviewed Journal Publication Δημοσίευση σε Περιοδικό με Κριτές 2015-11-011989enRefractory gold ores and concentrates are characterised by low gold recoveries and high cyanide consumptions when subjected to direct cyanide leaching. Therefore an oxidation pretreatment step is required before cyanidation that will break up the sulphide lattice and render gold particles accessible to cyanide ions. The main three options for the treatment of refractory ores and concentrates include the traditional oxidation roasting, the modern pressure oxidation and the bacterial oxidation which is still at an advanced experimental stage. The present work focuses on the mineralogical factors influencing the refractoriness of gold, the main characteristics and developments of each process and provides economic comparative data from various operations worldwide. Environmental considerations are also briefly discussed.Δημοσίευση σε επιστημονικό περιοδικό http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Minerals Engineering42449-457 Komnitsas Konstantinos Κομνιτσας Κωνσταντινος Pooley F.D. Elsevier Refractory gold ores oxidation roasting aqueous pressure oxidation bacterial leaching gold economics environmental considerations