The Gekko Systems team are thrilled to announce a landmark with the sale of our 200th production scale InLine Leach Reactor (ILR) to Marmato Mine in Colombia, operated by Aris Mining Colombia.
The InLine Leach Reactor was invented in 1997 by our Technical Director and co-founder Sandy Gray one year after the start-up of Gekko in 1996. The concept of chemically treating gravity gold concentrates rather than using physical recovery on a shaking table was driven by the poor recoveries (50-60%) and low security associated with shaking table devices which were standard uses. Typically, gold plants would experience a spike in cyclone overflow and high tailings grades when gravity concentrates were being treated by tables in the gold room and before intensive cyanidation became standard in gold operations. Key people like Nick Mooney and Nick Katsikaros made significant contributions to the concept and efficacy of the operation.
The ILR was the first commercialised intensive leach technology and remains the global technical and market leader in the gold industry worldwide. Sandy and Gekko’s award-winning technical and design team continue to constantly review and improve ease of operation and recoveries from the unit which typically run around 98-99%. Whilst developed in Australia, the concept really took off in Africa first with Ashanti Gold installing units in many of their operations in the late 1990’s and is now installed worldwide.