Agglomerating gold ores at the Haile gold mine

The Haile gold mine was the largest gold producer east of the Mississippi River before 1942. It was the first gold mine in the Southeast to reopen following deregulation of the gold price by the United States Government. The Haile mine was also the first gold mine in the Southeast to use heap leaching and carbon recovery for gold production. Current production involves mining and heap leaching about 1.8 kt/d (1600 stpd). Carbon is used as a recovery medium. Due to the clay and excessive fines in the oxidized ore, agglomeration using portland cement is required before leaching. Agglomerated ore ranges in screen size from 50 mm (2 in.) to less than 75 µm (200 mesh). The agglomerating step combined with certain other conditions has enabled Piedmont Mining Co. to achieve recoveries of about 90% or better.