Abstract: The grade of Au in the gold leaching residue from a gold smelter in Jiangxi Province is 2.7 g/t， which has a high recovery value. However， the contents of harmful impurities S and As in the leaching residue are high up to 7.54% and 1.98%， respectively， mainly in the form of pyrite and arsenopyrite. The gold particles wrapped in the two minerals are also extremely difficult to be separated under the condition of ultra-fine grinding. In order to effectively recover the gold particles in the tailing residue， a process of oxidation roasting and leaching was adopted to treat the sample based on its properties. The leaching test was carried out under the conditions of pH value of 12， leaching agent JC dosage of 5 kg/t， stirring leaching time of 6 h. The optimal roasting conditions were determined by condition test as follows: roasting temperature of 500 ℃， roasting time of 30 min， air flow of 500 mL/min， and leaching fineness of -0.038 mm accounting for 98.85%. Under the optimal roasting conditions， the grade of Au in the leaching residue is reduced to 1.0 g/t， and the leaching rate of Au reaches 65.52%. The results of chemical analysis and thermogravimetric analysis showed that cracks and pores appeared in the samples. The sulfide ores such as pyrite and arsenopyrite are transformed into oxidized ores during roasting， which reduce FeOOH cover and the consumption of leaching agent， and thus facilitate the leaching reaction. The research results provide reference for the utilization of refractory gold deposits of the same type.

Key words: gold mine tailings, high arsenic and sulfur, oxidizing roasting, leaching