Most activated carbon comparisons stop at the spec sheet — iodine number, hardness, ash content. Useful for procurement paperwork, but not for predicting what happens inside a CIL circuit where carbon spends months being pumped through abrasive ore slurry, screened at high velocity, stripped in acid, and thermally reactivated — over and over.
This article compares Jacobi PICAGOLD G210AS and Huamei HMGOLD™7500 based on verified data: Jacobi's official gold recovery brochure parameters for G210AS, and Huamei's SGS test report (No. MSRCZ2500346-01A) for HMGOLD™7500. Where data is available, we compare directly. Where it isn't, we say so.
| Parameter | Jacobi PICAGOLD G210AS | Huamei HMGOLD™7500 |
|---|---|---|
| Raw material | Coconut shell | Coconut shell |
| Activation | Steam | Steam |
| Iodine number | Not primary metric* | 1150mg/g |
| Ash content | ≤4% | 2.52% (SGS) |
| Moisture | ≤5% | ≤5% |
| Hardness/Strength | ≥99% (ball-pan) | 98.2% |
| K value (gold loading) | 28 kg/t | 28 kg/t |
| R value (adsorption kinetics) | 60% | 58% |
| Mesh size | 6×12 or 8×16 | 6×12, 8×16 |
*Jacobi's gold recovery brochure does not use iodine number as a primary specification for G210AS. This is standard practice — iodine measures total microporosity, not gold-specific adsorption capacity. K value and R value are the metrics Jacobi uses to define gold carbon performance.
Carbon attrition is the single largest source of unrecoverable gold loss in CIL circuits. When carbon breaks into fines smaller than your screen aperture, those fines — loaded with adsorbed gold — pass through inter-stage screens and exit with tailings.
These numbers come from different test methods using different equipment, sample preparation, and measurement criteria. A direct percentage-to-percentage comparison is not valid. Both values indicate high-strength carbons, but you cannot conclude that one is harder than the other based on these numbers alone.
Jacobi provides three attrition-relevant metrics (ball-pan hardness, rolling bottle attrition, platelet content) that together give a comprehensive picture of G210AS durability in CIL circuits.
Huamei provides one metric (GB/T strength) from a different test standard.
If attrition-related gold loss is a primary concern for your operation — and for most CIL plants, it should be — this data gap matters. Request rolling bottle attrition and platelet testing from Huamei before making a procurement decision based on durability.
This is one area where HMGOLD has a clear, verifiable edge. Lower ash = fewer inorganic mineral residues = cleaner carbon matrix.
Why this matters in CIL:
Elution efficiency: During Zadra or AARL stripping, inorganic residues can trap gold within the carbon structure, reducing strip recovery per cycle. Lower ash content means cleaner stripping and less residual gold left on carbon after elution.
Reactivation quality: During thermal reactivation, mineral ash doesn't burn off — it accumulates cycle over cycle. Carbon that starts with 2.52% ash accumulates less than carbon starting at 4%, meaning the low-ash carbon maintains its performance characteristics over more reactivation cycles.
Contamination risk: In operations producing doré bars or shipping gold precipitate for refining, lower-ash carbon contributes fewer impurities to the final product.
Both G210AS and HMGOLD™7500 are coconut shell, steam-activated carbons. Both are coconut-shell, steam-activated carbons, but their actual elution performance should be verified under identical operating conditions.
Ash content (advantage: HMGOLD): As discussed above, HMGOLD's lower ash (2.52% vs ≤4%) theoretically supports cleaner stripping with less gold retention per cycle.
Pore size distribution: Two carbons with different iodine numbers may have different mesopore-to-micropore ratios. Gold cyanide complexes (~0.6nm) load preferentially in mesopores. Carbons with more micropores may trap gold more tightly, making it harder to strip. Without comparative mercury porosimetry data for both products, this remains a theoretical consideration.
What to test during your trial: Track gold-on-carbon before and after each elution cycle for both carbons. If one consistently retains more gold after stripping, that's a quantifiable cost — both in gold recovery and in progressive performance degradation.
| Factor | Jacobi PICAGOLD G210AS | Huamei HMGOLD™7500 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Distributor/agent network | Factory-direct |
| Sample availability | Through distributor | Free 1–2 kg sample direct |
| COA with shipment | Yes | Yes (SGS reports available) |
The structural price difference comes from distribution model: Jacobi sells through a global agent network (each adding margin), while Huamei ships factory-direct. On equivalent specifications, factory-direct pricing is typically significantly lower per ton.
For exact pricing: request quotes from both suppliers for your specific volume, destination, and delivery schedule. Published price ranges become outdated quickly — get current numbers.
| Category | Jacobi G210AS | HMGOLD™7500 |
|---|---|---|
| Gold loading data (K value) | 28 kg/t (published) | 28 kg/t |
| Adsorption kinetics (R value) | 60% (published) | 58% |
| Attrition data | <1.0% rolling bottle, <4% platelets | ＜2% |
| Hardness | ≥99% | 98.2% (GB/T, SGS) |
| Ash content | ≤4% | 2.52% (SGS verified) |
| Iodine number | Not primary metric | 1150 mg/g |
| Pricing | Distributor markup | Factory-direct |
| MOQ flexibility | 20 tons | 10 tons |
| Track record in CIL | Decades, global | Growing, primarily Africa/Asia |
The bottom line: Jacobi wins on data transparency — they publish the gold-specific metrics (K, R, attrition, platelets) that matter most for CIL procurement decisions. HMGOLD wins on ash content and pricing structure, but has significant data gaps on the metrics that CIL metallurgists need to see before approving a carbon switch.
G210AS has more comprehensive published performance data — K value (28 kg/t), R value (60%), rolling bottle attrition (<1.0%), and platelet content (<4%). HMGOLD™7500 has verified advantages in ash content (2.52% vs ≤4%) and offers factory-direct pricing with lower MOQ.
According to Jacobi's official gold recovery brochure, the typical K value (gold loading) for G210AS is 28 kg/tonne, measured by the Mintek method. K value indicates how much gold the carbon loads from cyanide solution under standardized conditions. This is a competitive value for premium gold recovery carbon.
HMGOLD7500 can be evaluated as an alternative, but equivalence should be confirmed through K/R, attrition and plant-trial data.
Distribution structure. Jacobi sells through a global network of agents and distributors who each add margin. HMGOLD ships factory-direct from Huamei Carbon in China with no intermediary markup. Both use coconut shell raw material and steam activation. The price difference reflects distribution economics, not necessarily a difference in manufacturing quality.
Possibly — but you must verify through testing, not assumptions. HMGOLD's published specifications (iodine 1150 mg/g, ash 2.52%, 6×12 mesh) indicate a high-quality coconut shell carbon suitable for CIL. Run a parallel plant trial in one CIL train for 8–12 weeks, tracking gold recovery, attrition, and elution performance against your current G210AS results before committing to a full switch.
