Gravity concentration is a physical mineral-processing method that separates gold-bearing particles from lighter gangue minerals by exploiting differences in specific gravity, particle behaviour, and settling velocity.
Gravity concentration uses the natural difference in density between gold and surrounding minerals. When ore particles are suspended, stratified, or transported by water, denser particles tend to settle differently from lighter particles.
Unlike chemical leaching, gravity concentration does not rely on dissolving gold into a solution. Instead, it attempts to recover liberated gold particles as a high-density concentrate.
The method can be applied to alluvial material, crushed ore, grinding circuits, cyclone underflow, or selected process streams where recoverable free gold is present.
Gravity recovery depends strongly on particle liberation. Gold enclosed inside sulphide minerals, quartz, or complex mineral structures may not respond effectively until the host material has been reduced to an appropriate particle size.
Extremely fine particles may also behave differently because water turbulence, surface forces, and particle shape can interfere with ideal settling behaviour.
High gold density does not automatically guarantee high gravity recovery. Liberation, particle-size distribution, shape, water flow, feed stability, and equipment configuration must all be considered.
Select each stage to understand how ore preparation, classification, density separation, concentrate recovery, and downstream treatment work together.
Run-of-mine or selected process material is crushed and, where necessary, ground to expose gold particles from the surrounding mineral matrix.
Adjust the conceptual parameters below to explore how liberation, particle size, water flow, and feed stability may influence gravity concentration performance.
The selected conditions indicate that gravity concentration may provide useful pre-concentration where free gold is present. Laboratory gravity-recoverable-gold testing is still required.
Equipment selection depends on particle size, feed rate, mineralogy, required upgrade ratio, process location, and the characteristics of the recoverable gold.
A sluice uses flowing water and riffles or trapping surfaces to retain dense particles while lighter material continues through the channel.
Gravity concentration can be an effective part of a broader flowsheet, but it should be positioned according to ore response rather than treated as a universal recovery method.
Gravity methods are commonly considered where gold particles have already been liberated naturally from their original host rock.
Crushed or ground ore containing accessible free gold may respond positively to gravity pre-concentration.
Dense liberated gold can accumulate in circulating loads and may be recovered from selected grinding-circuit streams.
Early recovery of a valuable heavy fraction can reduce the amount of material requiring downstream processing.
Gravity equipment may produce a smaller high-value stream for controlled upgrading, intensive treatment, or final recovery.
Gravity concentration may operate before flotation, leaching, carbon recovery, or another ore-specific downstream process.
A responsible process assessment considers both what gravity concentration can achieve and where additional treatment may still be required.
Gravity recovery can remove accessible free gold, while the remaining material may proceed to another process selected according to mineralogy and metallurgical testing.
Gravity concentration and non-cyanide leaching should not be presented as competing concepts. In an appropriate flowsheet, gravity recovery may remove liberated gold before the remaining material is evaluated for a controlled leaching process.
Gravity concentration should be validated through representative sampling and controlled metallurgical testing before equipment or flowsheet decisions are made.
Gravity concentration should be evaluated according to mineralogy, liberation, particle behaviour, equipment configuration, and its role within the complete processing flowsheet.
This page provides general educational information about gravity concentration. The diagrams and simulator do not represent a complete plant design, guaranteed recovery, equipment recommendation, or metallurgical test result. Actual performance depends on representative sampling, mineralogy, liberation, particle size, water chemistry, equipment configuration, operating conditions, and laboratory or pilot testing.