A REVIEW ON RECOVERY PROCESS OF PRECIOUS METALS LIKE GOLD AND SILVER CONTAINED IN ELECTRONIC WASTE

Abstract

The sider-metallurgical process for the treatment of gold and silver remained unchanged during the first 70 years of the 20th century and consisted essentially of leaching with cyanide in solution followed by solid-liquid separation, with the washing of solid waste in the most efficient way possible, and with the treatment of the leaching solution with metallic zinc for the recovery of precious metals. This process is generally very efficient and quite cheap but has its limitations in the treatment of low-grade ore ores certain types of complex minerals. Due to the low grade found in the mines, waste from other industries has been recycled to obtain gold and silver. The mineral recycling process takes around 20 years of study, development and application. This article shows a summary of the most important recycling processes like smelting, alkali smelting, electrochemical and hydrometallurgical process.