Ghana 500 T/D Gold Tailings Cyanidation Plant - Engineering Design and Project Implementation by Xinhai Mining

1. Project Background and Significance

Driven by the continuous rise in global gold prices, the redevelopment of secondary mineral resources has attracted increasing attention worldwide. Among these, gold tailings reprocessing projects have become an important investment direction, especially in Africa and Belt and Road countries, due to their relatively low capital intensity, high resource utilization efficiency, and strong environmental benefits.

This project is located in Ghana and was invested by a Chinese-owned enterprise. It is designed as a 500 tons per day gold tailings cyanidation processing plant, aiming to recover residual gold from historical tailings through a proven and mature all-slime cyanidation process. The project not only improves gold recovery from existing tailings but also helps mitigate long-term environmental risks associated with tailings storage, delivering both economic and environmental value.

In this project, Xinhai Mining served as the engineering and technical service provider, responsible for engineering design, equipment supply, on-site installation guidance, and commissioning support, ensuring the systematic and orderly implementation of the project.

2. Project Overview

This is a gold tailings reprocessing project in Ghana invested by Chinese owners, with gold tailings as the feed material and cyanidation technology adopted for gold recovery.

Scope of Services

l  Xinhai Mining's scope of work includes:

Engineering design of the mineral processing plant and tailings storage facility

Supply of complete mineral processing equipment

On-site installation guidance

Technical support for commissioning

The project does not include metallurgical testing or production operation management. Process parameters were determined based on engineering experience and similar gold tailings projects.

l  Key Reasons for Client Selection

During the early communication stage, Xinhai Mining gained the client's trust mainly due to:

Timely and efficient quotation responses

Frequent and professional technical and commercial communication

Ability to provide a complete and feasible engineering solution within a short time

Based on these factors, the client finally selected Xinhai Mining as the project partner.

l  Current Project Status

On-site installation guidance has been completed

Individual equipment units have completed single-machine commissioning

The full production line has not yet undergone integrated commissioning

According to the project plan, Xinhai Mining’s commissioning engineers are scheduled to arrive on site in late November 2025. Driven by the rising gold price, the client is eager to put the plant into operation and plans to achieve full production by the end of 2025.

3. Design Scheme (Extracted from the Engineering Design Report)

3.1 Design Scope and Disciplines

The project is titled “Construction Drawing Design of Ghana 500 TPD Gold Tailings Cyanidation Plant (Including Tailings Storage Facility)”. The design scope covers both the mineral processing plant and the supporting tailings system.

The design involves the following disciplines:

Mineral processing

Tailings engineering

Water supply and drainage

Electrical engineering

Civil engineering (architectural and structural)

General layout planning

The electrical design excludes the low-voltage substation and external power connection, but the location of the low-voltage substation was unified and planned in the general layout.

3.2 Expansion-Oriented Design Concept

When configuring the 500 TPD processing plant, Xinhai Mining fully considered the client's future development plan. Space has been reserved in all major workshops to allow for a future expansion of the plant to 1,500 TPD, avoiding major reconstruction during later upgrades.

3.3 Mineral Processing Design

l  The mineral processing design includes:

General layout and sectional drawings of the all-slime cyanidation plant

Grinding circuit

Gravity separation section

Thickener system

Cyanidation leaching system

Elution and electrowinning system

Acid washing system

Carbon regeneration system

l  In addition, detailed designs were completed for:

Non-standard equipment

Slurry pipelines

Reagent pipelines

Air ducts

Process water pipelines

l  3.4 Tailings Engineering Design

The tailings design covers:

Tailings storage facility layout and seepage control

Tailings delivery pump station

Tailings pipeline system

Tailings return water pump station

Tailings dam monitoring system

The design fully considers local climatic and environmental conditions in Ghana to ensure long-term operational safety.

3.5 Civil, Electrical, and General Layout Design

Civil engineering: concrete foundations, steel-structure plant buildings, and detailed steel platform design

Electrical engineering: low-voltage distribution room, equipment power supply, plant lighting, lightning protection and grounding, and internal power network

General layout: production areas, as well as living and office facilities

4. Design Schedule

July 2024: Engineering design contract signed

December 2024: Completion of construction drawings and delivery of all design documents in accordance with the client's schedule

The design phase was completed on time and met the requirements for subsequent equipment manufacturing and construction.

5. Process Flow

5.1 Feed Characteristics

Feed material: gold tailings

Gold grade: 2–5 g/t

No crushing system in Phase I

Space reserved for a Phase II crushing plant to process run-of-mine ore

5.2 Process Description

The plant adopts a two-stage closed-circuit grinding and all-slime cyanidation process:

Two-stage closed-circuit grinding

Grinding fineness: 85% passing -200 mesh

Pre-leaching thickening

Cyanide leaching and carbon adsorption

Loaded carbon sent to:

Elution and electrowinning system

Carbon regeneration system

Smelting to produce gold bullion

As no metallurgical testing was conducted, the gold recovery rate has not yet been quantified.

6. Installation Guidance Status

6.1 Installation Characteristics

Most large equipment, such as leaching tanks and thickeners, was fabricated on site. Equipment was shipped mainly in loose components, and photo quality during delivery was limited due to on-site conditions.

6.2 Installation Schedule and Personnel

Planned installation period: 3 months

Two Xinhai Mining engineers arrived on site on May 9, 2025

Installation completed on September 24, 2025, and engineers returned

6.3 Reasons for Schedule Extension

The installation period was extended by nearly two months, mainly because:

Local African installation teams were employed

Overall installation efficiency was relatively low

Despite this, the installation phase was successfully completed under Xinhai Mining's guidance.

7. Project Core Highlights

7.1 High-Value Gold Tailings Reprocessing

The cyanidation process enables high gold recovery from tailings compared with alternative methods, maximizing the utilization of residual gold resources.

7.2 Green Mining Concept Throughout the Project

Environmental protection principles were integrated from design to implementation, covering wastewater, waste residue, and exhaust gas control, helping reduce environmental impact and enhance regulatory compliance.

7.3 Expansion-Ready Plant Layout

The plant layout was designed with sufficient space reserved for expansion from 500 TPD to 1,500 TPD, ensuring long-term operational flexibility.

7.4 Tight and Well-Managed Project Timeline

From design contract signing to planned commissioning, the project followed a compact yet orderly schedule, supporting the client's goal of early production.

The Ghana 500 TPD gold tailings cyanidation plant represents another practical application of Xinhai Mining's engineering capabilities in gold tailings reprocessing projects in Africa. The project demonstrates a systematic approach to plant design, process selection, environmental responsibility, and future expansion planning.

With commissioning and production approaching, the project is expected to deliver stable operational performance while providing a valuable reference for similar gold tailings recovery projects worldwide.