Pretreatment of refractory gold ores using cell-free extracts of P. chrysosporium: A preliminary study

The fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium has been proven to biotransform refractory gold ores, leading to increase in gold recovery. This transformation has been attributed to enzymes secreted by the microbe. This paper reports the findings of preliminary investigations aimed at assessing the use of hydrogen peroxide and cell-free extracts from the fungus, P. chrysosporium, to effect biotransformation of sulphidic refractory gold ores. The investigations show that the total dissolved arsenic, iron and sulphur in solution were up to 5.2 wt%, 0.9 wt% and 6.0 wt% respectively from flotation concentrate after 72 hrs of treatment. Analysis for sulphide sulphur in the residual solids of the gold concentrate indicated about 25 wt% oxidation within 24 hours of treatment. In general, cell-free decomposition of the samples did not increase beyond 24 hours of contact time, possibly due to exhaustion of the active components. Gold extraction by cyanidation increased by 24% after 24-hr treatment with the cell-free extracts. Comparatively, cell-free (in vitro) treatment recorded 66% overall gold recovery as against 61% for whole cell (in vivo) after 72 hours of treatment. These initial results indicate clearly that in vitro processing is a promising alternative to in vivo processing of refractory gold ores using P. chrysosporium.