Small Deposit, Right-Sized Plant
A small gold deposit does not need a miniature version of a large plant. It needs a flowsheet and equipment sized to its actual throughput, so capital and operating cost stay in line with what the deposit can support.
Routes for Small-Scale Gold Processing
- Gravity-only — for coarse, free gold, a simple circuit of crushers, a mill, and gravity concentrators can be enough.
- Gravity plus cyanidation — pulls free gold early, then leaches the fine gold for higher overall recovery.
- Modular or containerised plants — pre-engineered modules that cut on-site construction and reach production faster.
The route depends on the ore, not just the size. A small sulphide ore may still need flotation; a small free-gold ore may need only gravity. Testwork fixes the answer.
What Keeps Small Plants Viable
- Testwork first — a small budget does not excuse guessing. Ore characterisation protects what little capital there is.
- Right-sized equipment — mills and tanks sized to the actual tonnage, not overspecified.
- Scalable design — a plant that can expand if the deposit proves larger than first estimated.
Xinhai designs and supplies small-scale gold plants the same way it supplies 15,000 t/d operations — from testwork to a working plant, with the same equipment range and engineering standards.
Working a small gold deposit? See our small-scale plants or talk to an engineer.