Ore processing – Waihi Gold
The gold and silver migrates and attaches itself to the stainless steel cathodes. The cathodes are then rinsed, yielding a muddy sludge, and the cathodes are reused. The muddy sludge is dried (3), and the powder that remains is mixed with fluxes (4) and put into the furnace (5). The furnace attains a temperature of 1200 degrees C and after several hours the molten material is poured into a ...