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Precious metals recovery

SummitPro™ Self-cleaning Electrowinning Cell

The SummitPro™ Self-cleaning Electrowinning Cell is the industry’s first electrowinning solution with automated cathode wash and sludge removal, plus an operator-engaged hard-plate removal cycle. By minimising manual intervention and gold inventory lock-up, it enhances safety while cutting labour, maintenance and opportunity-loss costs. This accelerates the path from solution to value.

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Key benefits of the SummitPro™ Self-cleaning Electrowinning Cell

  • ~300 hours

    By automating electrode, cathode, and bus bar cleaning, SummitPro saves about 300 hours of manual maintenance per year.

  • ~72,000 $

    Save about USD 72,000 per year for every 125,000 troy ounces produced, compared to hard-plating losses in traditional cells.

  • up to 0.008%

    Minimise gold losses by cutting lock-up to just 0.008% and eliminating costly mesh refinery and replacement.

Automated, operator-engaged self-cleaning cycle

Triggered via the HMI and controlled by the PLC, the cell executes the self-cleaning sequence. It washes sludge from the cathodes, collects it in the lower trough and then flushes the precious-metal slurry to the sludge pump.

  • Approximately 300 hours per year less cell servicing and maintenance
  • About USD 42,000 annual labour cost saving versus a competing electrowinning cell 

Hard-plate removal that limits inventory lock-up 

Traditional cells typically hard-plate about 1.25% of annual production onto the cathode mesh. This ties up cash, adds refinery charges and drives mesh replacement. The SummitPro’s operator-engaged hard-plate removal cycle reduces gold lock-up to about 0.008% and eliminates mesh refinery and replacement costs. 

Cross-sectional view of cathode mesh samples. Left: wire mesh with accumulated gold hard-plating (typical in conventional electrowinning cells); Right: wire mesh after hard-plate removal, representing reduced gold lock-up and minimized mesh replacement as achieved by the SummitPro™ Self-cleaning Electrowinning Cell.

Improve workplace safety

The SummitPro replaces tedious manual handling and pressure-spraying of cathodes, reducing exposure to hazardous materials. Direct-connect electrodes eliminate bus bar maintenance, and each electrode includes amperage monitoring via the PLC (programmable logic controller) to detect and prevent overheating. 

Lower HVAC and Mercury Abatement system costs

A two-stage integrated ventilation system captures gases and vapours effectively while reducing airflow requirements. Lower airflow can reduce both HVAC capacity and downstream Mercury Abatement system size and cost where mercury is present. 

Reduced labour cost, higher uptime 

By automating cleaning of electrodes, cathodes and bus bars, the SummitPro removes approximately 300 hours per year of manual maintenance. Fewer personnel are required for servicing. This improves uptime and overall gold recovery efficiency. 

Unlocking cost-efficient precious metals recovery 

The SummitPro reduces production costs from about USD 61,000 to about USD 27,000 per 125,000 troy ounces of gold produced. Where hard-plating is a challenge, annual production costs fall from around USD 136,000 to about USD 30,000. 

Designed for higher throughput, the SummitPro processes more solution and accelerates metal recovery from pregnant solution tank operating systems. Each unit handles up to 34.1 m³/h (150 gpm), compared with a conventional cell at about 14.8 m³/h (65 gpm). 

SummitPro cells are compact. Two units fit within the footprint of one traditional cell, which makes brownfield upgrades straightforward. They suit gravity-gold intensive leach and AARL elution systems, and the high-flow capability enables multiple passes on a given process solution. 

Our smallest SummitPro model can also operate in ZADRA circuits with a pregnant solution tank. For circulated-solution ZADRA circuits, a larger SummitPro model is recommended. 

Bottom line: The SummitPro™ Self-cleaning Electrowinning Cells provide a smarter, safer and more cost-efficient way to recover gold and other precious metals from solution. 

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Frequently asked questions

Yes. The smaller footprint and high flow rates make the SummitPro cell an ideal retrofit for gravity-gold intensive leach, AARL elution systems and ZADRA circuits.

The SummitPro cells recover precious metals such as gold and silver from cyanide solution.

Very little. The SummitPro is built with a large-diameter cathode mesh and a thick anode plate to minimise routine maintenance. The automated cathode and electrode sprays require clean solution; if suspended solids are present, include a polishing filter on the spray supply.