A gold plant that gets its carbon circuit wrong does not just lose a few recovery points. It burns through the reagent budget for years afterward.

Run a straight CIP circuit on a preg-robbing ore. Dissolved gold sits in solution long enough for the ore itself to grab it back. That is a real, measurable loss. Run CIL on a clean, well-behaved ore instead, and a plant pays for tank complexity it never needed.

Here is the direct answer. CIP stands for Carbon-in-Pulp. It leaches gold into solution first, in its own tanks. Activated carbon is added afterward, in separate tanks downstream.

CIL stands for Carbon-in-Leach. It leaches and adsorbs gold onto carbon at the same time, in the same tanks. This design is built for ores that fight back against straight leaching.

Which one fits your ore decides what goes on your next purchase order from China. That means how much sodium cyanide you need, what grade of activated carbon, and what tank and screen equipment to buy.

Overview: Why This Choice Drives Your China Sourcing Plan

This guide breaks down what actually separates CIP from CIL. It uses plain terms a plant manager or a procurement buyer can use, not a metallurgy textbook definition. It also covers what each circuit means for your two biggest cost drivers: sodium cyanide and activated carbon.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• The real technical difference between CIP and CIL, and which ore types call for each
• The activated carbon and sodium cyanide specs worth writing into your purchase order
• What CAMAL checks before recommending a Chinese reagent or equipment supplier
• A real project where CAMAL sourced leaching chemicals for a first-time China buyer

This is exactly the kind of decision CAMAL was built to support.

Before your first purchase order goes out, it helps to understand CAMAL’s sourcing process. That way, the circuit and supplier decisions get made together, not one after the other.

What Is CIP (Carbon-in-Pulp)?

CIP is the older and, in many operations, the simpler of the two circuits. Ore is ground, thickened to roughly 40 to 50 percent solids, and pumped into a leach section first. Cyanide dissolves the gold into solution over several hours of retention time, with no carbon present yet.

Only after leaching is largely complete does the slurry move into a separate bank of adsorption tanks. This bank usually has four or more tanks in sequence. Activated carbon in these tanks captures the dissolved gold. Carbon moves countercurrent to the pulp, so the freshest carbon meets the most depleted slurry.

CIP works well on clean ores. That means ore that does not naturally reabsorb dissolved gold once it is in solution. It is a proven, well-understood circuit. It is generally the easier one for a smaller technical team to operate and troubleshoot.

CIP is also the circuit CAMAL sees most often from first-time China buyers building a leaner plant. That is part of why CAMAL’s sourcing materials guide starts with exactly this kind of buyer.

What Is CIL (Carbon-in-Leach)?

CIL solves a specific problem CIP cannot: preg-robbing ore. Some ores act like their own low-grade activated carbon. This is especially true of ores with natural carbonaceous material or certain clays. They pull dissolved gold back out of solution before it ever reaches a carbon tank.

CIL fixes this by adding activated carbon into the same tanks where leaching happens. Carbon intercepts the gold almost as soon as cyanide dissolves it, well before the ore itself gets a chance to reabsorb it. Leaching and adsorption run together, tank by tank, instead of in two separate stages.

Camachem, CAMAL’s mining reagent team, sources both the cyanide and the activated carbon either circuit needs. This matters because a CIL plant typically needs faster-kinetic carbon than a CIP plant does. The two reactions are competing for the same gold in the same tank.

CIP vs CIL: Side-by-Side Comparison

The honest answer to “which one is better” is that neither is universally better. The right circuit depends on your ore mineralogy, your capital budget, and how much operating complexity your team can handle. Here is how the two stack up on the criteria that actually drive a sourcing decision.

CIP and CIL solve the same problem differently. Your ore’s mineralogy usually settles the choice before cost does.

Ore Type Decides More Than Cost Does

A plant with confirmed preg-robbing characteristics rarely has a real choice. Running CIP on that ore loses recovery to the ore itself. No amount of extra carbon dosing fully closes the gap. If your test work shows preg-robbing behavior, CIL is the circuit.

Capital Cost Is Close, Not Identical

CIP and CIL circuits generally cost less to build and run than older agitated-tank leach designs. The two circuits also sit closer to each other in cost than either does to those older methods.

CIP typically needs more total tanks, since leaching and adsorption are separate stages. CIL can run fewer tanks, but each tank must handle both reactions. It also needs retention screens working against a live pulp stream. That is a more demanding piece of equipment to source correctly.

What the Circuit Choice Means for Your China Sourcing Order

Once the circuit is chosen, the sourcing decisions get specific fast. This is where a plant either saves real money by ordering the right reagent grade the first time. Or it pays for that mistake later, in inconsistent recovery and repeat testing.

This is the stage where a reagent order either gets locked down correctly or quietly goes wrong.

CAMAL has run this exact type of reagent order before. One example is a copper-processor chemical sourcing project in Zambia. It cut delivery time by 35 days by finding two factories that already had inventory on hand.

Activated Carbon: What Changes Between CIP and CIL

Both circuits generally want coconut-shell activated carbon over coal-based or wood-based carbon. Coconut shell has a harder, more microporous skeleton. It captures gold-cyanide complexes well without breaking down under agitation.

Four numbers worth confirming on the certificate of analysis before a shipment leaves China, not after it arrives.

Write these into the purchase order rather than accepting a supplier’s default grade:

• Iodine value. Target 1,000 to 1,200 mg/g. This is the best proxy for how much gold a given weight of carbon can hold.
• Mesh size. Typically 6×12 or 8×16 mesh, with CIL plants often leaning toward the finer end for faster adsorption.
• Hardness. Above 98 percent, with attrition loss under 1 percent. CIP carbon spends longer in continuous agitation across more tanks, so hardness matters even more there.
• Ash content. Under 3 percent. Excess ash blocks pores and raises how much carbon you need for the same recovery target.

Carbon consumption typically runs from a few hundredths to a tenth of a kilogram per tonne of ore. It depends on gold grade, target recovery, and circuit control. Treat any supplier’s flat figure as a starting estimate, not a guarantee.

Sodium Cyanide: Concentration, Purity, and Compliance

Sodium cyanide is the reagent that actually dissolves the gold in both circuits. Confirm concentration and purity against the certificate of analysis for every shipment, not just the first one. Batch-to-batch drift is a known risk with cyanide products.

Certification matters more here than in most reagent categories. Look for a producer whose specific plant holds current International Cyanide Management Code certification, not just its parent company.

Anhui Anqing Shuguang Chemical is one example of an ICMI-recertified Chinese producer.

CAMAL’s own Chinese mining chemical suppliers ranking names Hebei Chengxin among the country’s established gold-mining producers.

Export documentation is worth flagging early. Sodium cyanide can carry Chinese export-license and dangerous-goods documentation requirements. These vary by product form and change over time. Confirm current requirements with the supplier and your own compliance team. Do not assume last year’s paperwork still applies.

Processing Equipment: Tanks, Screens, and Elution Circuits

The reagents get most of the attention. But the circuit choice also shapes what capital equipment you are sourcing. That includes leach tanks, carbon-transfer air-lift systems, retention screens, and the elution and regeneration kiln that strips gold off loaded carbon for reuse.

Equipment loading from a real CAMAL project: a 150-tonne-per-day gold processing plant delivered for a Tanzania-based mining company.

CAMAL has sourced exactly this kind of capital equipment before. On a Tanzania gold processing plant project covering a 150-tonne-per-day facility, CAMAL shortlisted manufacturers, ran joint factory visits, and supported installation. The project was worth roughly $452,000. That is the scale of equipment decision a circuit choice ultimately feeds into.

Commercial Terms Procurement Teams Should Confirm (Polly)

Beyond specs, a few commercial details determine whether a reagent order actually lands on schedule and on budget:

• Minimum order quantity. Bulk chemical MOQs are usually set by container or ISO-tank size, so confirm how partial or consolidated shipments are handled.
• Payment terms. Expect a deposit against production, with the balance due before or against shipping documents.
• Lead time. Production typically takes several weeks, and hazardous-cargo paperwork adds its own processing time.
• Logistics. Both reagents often ship out of Shandong-based chemical hubs through Qingdao, a port experienced with bulk and hazardous chemical cargo.

Loading documentation like this is part of what CAMAL’s team checks before a chemical shipment leaves China.

CAMAL’s sourcing team manages these details directly with the supplier. A buyer is not negotiating hazmat paperwork and container bookings alone for the first time.

Which Circuit Fits Your Operation?

A few common situations tend to point clearly toward one circuit or the other:

• New build, preg-robbing confirmed. CIL is very likely the answer, and equipment sourcing should be planned around it from day one.
• New build, clean ore, capex-constrained. CIP’s simpler tank design and lower operating burden usually make it the more practical starting point.
• Existing CIP plant, declining recovery. Retest for preg-robbing behavior before assuming a reagent or equipment problem is the real cause.
• First-time China buyer, either circuit. The bigger risk usually is not CIP versus CIL. It is sourcing reagents and tanks from an unverified supplier.

Four starting points, and the decision each one usually points toward.

That last point is worth taking seriously even after the circuit decision is made. A technically correct circuit design still fails in practice if the reagents feeding it are inconsistent. CAMAL’s guide to avoiding sourcing scams covers the general warning signs worth knowing before any first order, reagent or equipment.

Verifying Your Chinese Reagent and Equipment Suppliers

Cyanide and activated carbon both carry real supplier risk. This goes beyond the usual “is this factory real” question every China sourcing category faces. Documented failure modes here include dilution mismatches on liquid cyanide and carbon sold on a first-shipment certificate that is never matched again. Traders also sometimes relabel another plant’s cyanide as their own.

Verification is not a one-time check. CAMAL expects this same kind of documented, measured checking on every shipment, not assumed on the strength of the first one.

CAMAL runs a consistent verification process before recommending any reagent or equipment supplier. This distinguishes an actual manufacturer from a trading company reselling someone else’s product under its own name:

1. Confirm ICMI Cyanide Code certification at the specific production plant, not just the parent company’s brand.
2. Check business registration on China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, covering scope, registered capital, and legal representation.
3. Request a certificate of analysis matched to every shipment, not a template COA reused across multiple orders.
4. Test activated carbon’s iodine value after thermal regeneration, not only on the first delivery, since regeneration is where carbon quality actually drifts.
5. Confirm manufacturer status directly, through a factory audit or a third-party inspection firm, rather than relying on a supplier’s own claims.

Five checks that catch most of the reagent-quality problems before they leave China, not after they arrive at your plant.

None of this needs to fall on a plant’s own procurement team to run alone.

If you would rather have this checked before the next purchase order goes out, message CAMAL on WhatsApp directly:

WhatsApp Us for Free a Consultation

Or start with CAMAL’s broader China company verification guide before committing to a first order.

Real Results: How CAMAL Sourced Leaching Chemicals for a First-Time China Buyer

Theory only goes so far. Here is what this kind of sourcing project actually looks like in practice.

Grøntvedt Pelagic, a Norway-based company, needed to source leaching chemicals from China for the first time. It had relied on European suppliers for years. The concern was familiar: an unfamiliar market and no easy way to confirm quality before committing to a full order.

This particular shipment is caustic soda, not the cyanide or carbon this post’s circuits run on, but it is the same container-loading and export process CAMAL runs for every bulk chemical order, gold-processing reagents included.

CAMAL vetted candidate factories and ran multiple rounds of sampling before any commercial commitment was made. The result: an $85,000 first order, a 20 percent cost saving against previous European pricing, and ongoing quarterly shipments. See the full leaching chemicals sourcing project for how the vetting worked.

A similar project starts with a conversation. Message CAMAL on WhatsApp to talk through your own reagent order:

WhatsApp Us for Free a Consultation

Camachem put together a short video that covers exactly this kind of reagent-buying process:

Worth five minutes before your next reagent order goes out. Most first-time buyers do not lose money on price. They lose it on the questions they never thought to ask a Chinese cyanide supplier upfront. Watching this now is cheaper than learning those questions the hard way on your own first shipment.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does CIP stand for in gold processing?

CIP stands for Carbon-in-Pulp. It is a gold recovery circuit where ore is leached with cyanide first, in one set of tanks. Activated carbon is added afterward, in a separate set of tanks, to adsorb the dissolved gold.

What does CIL stand for in gold processing?

CIL stands for Carbon-in-Leach. Leaching and carbon adsorption happen together, in the same tanks, at the same time. It is designed for ores that would otherwise reabsorb dissolved gold before it reaches a carbon adsorption stage.

Is CIP or CIL cheaper to run?

Neither is consistently cheaper. CIP and CIL both cost less than older agitated leach circuits, and they sit close to each other in cost. Ore type usually drives the real difference. Forcing CIP onto a preg-robbing ore costs more in lost recovery than CIL’s added complexity costs in operating expense.

Can an existing CIP plant be converted to CIL?

It is possible in some plant layouts, usually by adding carbon retention screens to existing leach tanks. Whether it is worth doing depends on confirmed preg-robbing test results. It also depends on how much recovery the current CIP setup is actually losing.

How much activated carbon does a gold plant use per tonne of ore?

It varies by ore grade, target recovery, and circuit control. Consumption typically falls in a range of a few hundredths to a tenth of a kilogram per tonne processed. Ask any supplier for the assumptions behind their quoted figure. Do not treat it as fixed.

Is sodium cyanide export from China restricted?

Some chemical categories, sodium cyanide included, can carry export-license and dangerous-goods documentation requirements. These vary by product form and change over time. Confirm current requirements with the supplier and your own compliance team before finalizing an order. Do not assume last year’s paperwork still applies.

How do I verify a Chinese activated carbon or sodium cyanide supplier?

Check four things. Confirm ICMI Cyanide Code certification at the specific plant. Check business registration on China’s official credit information system. Request a certificate of analysis matched to each shipment.

Also confirm manufacturer status through a factory audit or third-party inspection. CAMAL’s guide to finding legitimate manufacturers in China covers the broader verification process these checks sit inside.

Conclusion: Match the Circuit to the Ore, Then Source Deliberately

CIP and CIL are not a better-versus-worse comparison. CIP suits clean ore and a simpler operating footprint. CIL exists specifically for preg-robbing ore that CIP cannot handle well. Your metallurgical test work, not a general preference, should settle which one your plant needs.

Once that decision is made, the sourcing work is where a plant protects its margin or slowly loses it. The right carbon grade, a cyanide supplier with current ICMI certification, and equipment sized correctly for your circuit are not small details. They are not something to leave to a supplier’s default offer. They are the purchase order itself.

 

The outcome CAMAL’s verification process is actually built toward: a buyer who trusts the shipment before it even leaves China.

How can CAMAL help you manage your China Sourcing?

✅ Do you spend too much time finding the right manufacturers in China?

✅Do you face difficulties in communicating your requirements to suppliers in China?

✅ Do your products often need customization just for you?

✅ Do you wish someone could help you with end-to-end procurement, so you can focus on growing your business?

If your answer is YES, Reduce Your China Sourcing Headaches, WhatsApp Us (Faster) or Email Us Now for a FREE Consultation

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