In the Mac-Arthur Forrest cyanide process for the extraction of gold, the coordination number of in — Metallurgy and Isolation of Elements Chemistry Question
Question
In the Mac-Arthur Forrest cyanide process for the extraction of gold, the coordination number of $Au$ in the soluble anionic complex formed during leaching is $x$. The coordination number of $Zn$ in the complex formed during the subsequent displacement step is $y$. What is the integer value of $x + y$?
Answer: 6
💡 Solution & Explanation
During leaching, gold forms the aurocyanide complex $[Au(CN)_2]^-$ where Au has a coordination number of 2 ($x = 2$). In the displacement step, zinc forms the tetracyanozincate complex $[Zn(CN)_4]^{2-}$ where Zn has a coordination number of 4 ($y = 4$). The sum is $2 + 4 = 6$.
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