In a typical gold recovery plant, it is estimated that as much as 0.2 grams per ton of the gold reporting to the tailings is in a form that is theoretically recoverable; however, this gold is lost. Possible causes of this phenomenon include adsorption of the gold cyanide onto carbonaceous materials or onto various minerals, insufficient leaching time, and abraded activated carbon loss. This gold loss equates to about R13 million of potential revenue to this country alone. The aim of the present work was therefore to investigate the adsorption behaviour of gold onto several pure mineral surfaces that are common in gold ores, and to extablish the presence and significance of such an effect.