The well-known carbon-in-pulp (CIP) and carbon-in-leach (CIL) gold recovery processes are fairly robust. Considering the constantly changing characteristics of run-of-mine ore, a robust process is in general a great advantage for a mineral processing plant. The continuous processes of gold recovery by adsorption on activated carbon in agitated tanks, namely the CIP and the CIL processes, have been widely used since the 1970s.

Carbon in pulp (CIP) is an extraction technique for recovery of gold which has been liberated into a cyanide solution as part of the gold cyanidation process. During the CIP stage, Activated carbon acts like a sponge to aurocyanide and other complex ions in solution. Hard carbon particles (much larger than the ore particle sizes) can be mixed with the ore and cyanide solution mixture. The gold cyanide complex is adsorbed onto the carbon until it comes to an equilibrium with the gold in solution. Because the carbon particles are much larger than the ore particles, the coarse carbon can then be separated from the slurry by screening using a wire mesh.

Carbon-in-leach (CIL) is a simultaneous leach and absorption process. The simultaneous leach and absorption phases of the CIL process were developed for processing gold ores that contain preg-robbing materials such as natural absorptive carbon.These reduce the gold yield by attracting gold meant for the activated carbon. Simultaneous leaching and absorption help minimize the problem.

In the CIL (Carbon in Leach) or CIP (Carbon in Pulp) plants while the precious metals are being dissolved by the cyanide solution in the large volume tanks the dissolved metals are adsorbed by the active carbon. These processes are generally preferred for the relatively high grade and lower reserve ore types with very fine graded precious metals.

The major difference between the CIL and CIP processes is; during the CIL process both cyanide leaching and carbon adsorption take place in the same tanks but in the CIP process first leaching occurs in the first couple of tanks then carbon adsorption take place in the following tanks while leaching continues. In all of these tanks agitation and air sparging is available.

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