The ongoing depletion of gold and silver-containing ore deposits demands a shift towards the processing of more complex sources. Leaching of gold or silver from these sources, which are named refractory and are typically low-grade, can be complicated due to one or more of the following effects: (1) kinetic or thermodynamic impediments on cyanide diffusion or on the dissolution of minerals, (2) readsorption of leached gold or silver (preg-robbing), and (3) excessive cyanide consumption due to the presence of cyanicidal agents. This article reviews the occurrence of these effects as a function of the elemental composition and compiles strategies to overcome them. The first type of refractory behavior was found to be related to arsenic or antimony sulfides and sulfosalts, manganese oxides, permanganates, iron sulfides, oxides, and hydroxides, tellurides, as well as different sulfur-containing minerals. In general, most kinetic or thermodynamic impediments are addressed by performing intensive grinding and through oxidation processes for sulfides, such as roasting, pressure oxidation, chemical oxidation or biological oxidation. On the other hand, preg-robbing activity was described as common in ores that contain carbonaceous matter, silicates, and sulfides. Strategies to deal with preg-robbing ores often include the destruction or deactivation of the preg-robbing surface, or the addition of another adsorbent to compete with the preg-robber (carbon-in-leach). Finally, cyanicidal agents include sulfides and compounds containing base metals, mainly copper, iron, zinc, and nickel. In the case of sulfides, performing oxidation processes is common, while base metals often require one or more pre-leaching stages in which they can be partially removed from the ore prior to cyanidation. Even though this review intends to serve as a compendium of strategies directed at improving cyanidation processes depending on the nature of the elements present in a feed, a final discussion stressing the importance of developing ore-specific strategies is given.

含金和银矿床的持续枯竭要求转向处理更复杂的资源。由于以下一种或多种影响，从这些被称为难熔且通常为低品位的来源中浸出金或银可能会很复杂：(1) 氰化物扩散或矿物溶解的动力学或热力学障碍， (2) 重新吸附浸出的金或银（预浸），以及 (3) 由于氰化剂的存在，氰化物消耗过多。本文回顾了作为元素组成函数的这些影响的发生，并编制了克服它们的策略。第一类耐火行为被发现与砷或锑的硫化物和磺盐、锰的氧化物、高锰酸盐、铁的硫化物、氧化物和氢氧化物有关，碲化物，以及不同的含硫矿物。通常，大多数动力学或热力学障碍是通过对硫化物进行强化研磨和氧化过程来解决的，例如焙烧、压力氧化、化学氧化或生物氧化。另一方面，在含有碳质物质、硅酸盐和硫化物的矿石中，预浸活性被描述为常见。处理预浸矿石的策略通常包括破坏或钝化预浸表面，或添加另一种吸附剂以与预浸矿石竞争（碳浸出）。最后，氰化剂包括硫化物和含有贱金属的化合物，主要是铜、铁、锌和镍。在硫化物的情况下，进行氧化过程是常见的，而贱金属通常需要一个或多个预浸阶段，在这些阶段中，它们可以在氰化之前从矿石中部分去除。尽管本次审查旨在根据进料中存在的元素的性质，作为旨在改进氰化过程的策略纲要，但还是给出了强调开发特定矿石策略重要性的最后讨论。