CYANIDE PROCESS


Meaning of CYANIDE PROCESS in English

or MacArthur-Forrest process

Method of extracting silver and gold from their ores by dissolving them in a dilute solution of sodium cyanide or potassium cyanide.

The process

invented in 1887 by the Scottish chemists John S. MacArthur, Robert W. Forrest, and William Forrest

includes contacting the finely ground ore with the cyanide solution, separating unwanted solids from the clear solution, and recovering the precious metals from the solution by precipitation with zinc dust.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.      Краткая энциклопедия Британика.