Presentation Information
[2K0201-07-04]Evaluation of Mineral Processing Methods as Pretreatment for Gold Leaching from Roasted Waste Printed Circuit Boards
○Melito Salvador Oculares1[Student presentation: Doctoral course], Ilhwan Park1, Ryoei Watanabe1, Mayumi Ito1 (1. Hokkaido University)
Chairperson: 伊藤 真由美（北海道大学）、パク イルファン（北海道大学）
Keywords:
roasted waste printed circuit boards,mineral processing,gold concentration
Declining gold grades in natural ores pose challenges to future gold supply and are expected to increase the volume of mine tailings, potentially leading to greater environmental impacts. These challenges highlight the need to identify viable secondary sources of gold. Over the past two decades, electronic waste has been recognized as a valuable secondary resource for gold. Its utilization supports urban mining and promotes a circular economy through material recycling. Furthermore, the application of sustainable hydrometallurgical techniques for gold extraction from roasted waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) can further strengthen circular economy initiatives. This study focuses on evaluating the role of mineral processing methods as an effective pretreatment step prior to hydrometallurgical gold extraction from roasted WPCBs. Several mineral processing techniques, including dense medium separation, shaking table concentration, Knelson concentrator, Falcon concentrator, and froth flotation, were investigated within feed particle size ranges where each method is most effective. Feed and products were characterized using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis. The results indicate that the mineral processing methods evaluated present challenges in concentrating gold from roasted WPCBs, suggesting that further process modifications are required to enhance gold enrichment. In contrast, these methods were effective in separating and concentrating copper (Cu) from roasted WPCBs, demonstrating the feasibility of physical copper separation.