CyanoGuard has developed a robust, AI-based real-time cyanide testing and monitoring solution consisting of a single-use test cartridge, a handheld analyser and a data analytics cloud platform. Our technology enables mining operations to measure and manage their cyanidation process effectively. Existing tools for measuring cyanide are unreliable, inefficient and costly and cause mining operations to overdose on cyanide and run a suboptimal process. For instance, the current standard method, a manual titration, often involves sending test samples to a laboratory. It requires at least 4-6 hours to result and is highly susceptible to interferences that make results highly inaccurate.
On the other hand, online analysers installed onsite allows mining operators to speed up the measurement process but are highly expensive to install and requires significant investments and downtime for maintenance and calibration. Our award-winning single-use test cartridge is resilient to interferences, increasing the speed and accuracy of cyanide measurements. At the same time, our handheld analyser brings mobility, efficiency and is cost-effective to implement. Operators can simultaneously make multiple measurements at various points along the leaching process and have all the cyanide data transmitted into our cloud platform where mining managers and metallurgist consultants can analyse cyanide data and decide on cyanide dosage. Our solution also allows mining operators to set alerts (via SMS or Whatsapp) when cyanide levels fall outside the desired range. Such alert functionality ensures early intervention and prevents any potential cyanide incidents from happening in the first place.
Cyanide remains one of the commonly used chemicals for leaching gold. Still, it has also raised environmental and safety concerns due to cyanide spillage incidents such as the Baia Mare incident in Romania in 2000. Cyanide-free leaching techniques have been researched on but are not as cost-effective as cyanide. Cyanide is highly toxic but does not bio-accumulate. It is a chemical that is also naturally produced by some food crops such as cassava, almonds and bamboo shoots. Our solution enables the mining industry to approach precious metal mining safely, environmentally sustainable, and responsible. Implementing an effective cyanide monitoring solution prevents cyanide overdosage, thereby allowing mining companies to reduce cyanide use by 15% on average while increasing gold recovery by 2%. Such operational efficiency also means fewer costs in the management of tailings, such as less detox reagent needed, less water and energy consumption, thereby reducing the overall environmental and societal footprint of mining activities.
