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World consumption of sodium cyanide in 2005 was about 510 thousand metric
tons, with a value of about $600 million, based on mid-2006 world market prices.
Major global players include DuPont, CyPlus, Australian Gold Reagents (AGR),
and Orica. Producers in the Republic of Korea and China follow closely behind.
The marketing of sodium cyanide is dominated by a few large producers, primarily
DuPont and CyPlus. Sodium cyanide is used throughout the world, mainly as a
reagent in the mining industry for the isolation of precious metals. About
70% of sodium cyanide is used for gold processing. However, it also has use
as a chemical intermediate, especially in locations where there is not a local
supply of hydrogen cyanide, since sodium cyanide can be transported and stored.
In Japan and Europe, chemical uses predominate, while in North and South America,
Australia, South Africa and China, use for gold isolation is the major application.
There is substantial world trade in solid sodium cyanide, with the United States,
Republic of Korea and Australia as the major export nations.
The sodium cyanide market has changed quite a bit in recent years as a result
of the impressive rise in gold prices. Gold mining companies are investing
capital in new grassroots exploration projects and also prolonging activities
in mines that were winding down. This has resulted in increased demand for
sodium cyanide and growth is expected to continue during the forecast period.
There is pressure worldwide to prohibit the use of sodium cyanide in the recovery
of gold. Montana and Wisconsin have legislated that there can be no new operations
involving sodium cyanide, but existing operations are allowed to remain. In
2004, Montana voters rejected a ballot that would have repealed the state’s
ban on cyanide use in the processing of gold and silver at newly mined deposits.
There have been accidents and spills involving sodium cyanide that have prompted
a voluntary industry program titled “International Cyanide Management
Code for the Manufacture, Transport and Use of Cyanide in the Production of
Gold.” The Code was developed under the auspices of the United Nations
Environmental Program (UNEP) and the International Council on Metals & the
Environment (ICME). In May 2000, at a joint UNEP/ICME sponsored international
workshop in Paris, cyanide producers, regulatory and transportation personnel,
gold mining companies and environmental advocacy organizations around the world
gathered to form a steering committee that would create the Code. It was published
in May 2002. Signatories of the Code agree to the highest standards of practice
for manufacturing, transportation and use of cyanide. Major global gold producers
and suppliers of cyanide products have signed their commitment to the Code,
which includes auditing and certification of facilities.
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