A pressurized container
used on mines which are producing refractory gold ore
with a very high sulphide content. Ideally the ore could be ‘roasted’ to unlock
the gold but burning off the sulphide poses environmental hazards. Instead, within
the autoclave vessel, the sulphide ore is subjected to oxygen at high temperature
and pressure to convert it into an oxide ore, which is then amenable to conventional
cyanidation to recover the gold. Also known
as a ‘bomb’.