How a Gold CIP Plant Works
In a carbon-in-pulp (CIP) plant, finely ground ore is leached with cyanide in dedicated tanks. Once the gold is dissolved, the slurry moves to a separate train of tanks where activated carbon adsorbs the gold from solution. The loaded carbon is then stripped, and the gold recovered by electrowinning and smelting.
The CIP Circuit, Stage by Stage
- Leaching — dual-impeller agitation tanks dissolve the gold into solution.
- Carbon adsorption — the slurry passes through a counter-current train of carbon tanks, where activated carbon picks up the gold.
- Elution — loaded carbon is stripped of gold in an elution column, with systems from 200 kg to 3,000 kg.
- Electrowinning — the gold-rich eluate is plated onto cathodes.
- Smelting — the plated gold is melted into doré bars.
Key Equipment in a CIP Plant
- Leaching and agitation tanks up to 20 m × 20 m.
- Carbon handling, screening and regeneration circuits.
- Elution columns from 200 kg to 3,000 kg.
- Electrowinning cells and a gold room.
How a CIP Plant Is Designed
Design starts with ore testwork: element analysis, leaching kinetics and carbon adsorption tests fix the tank sizes, carbon loading and residence times. On suitable ores, CIP recovery can reach 99%. The same design institute behind our plants works to JORC, NI 43-101 and VALMIN standards.
Planning a gold CIP plant? See our CIL/CIP plant capabilities or request a proposal.