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Glite Dictionary
cyanide process

cyanide process

5.4
A method of taking gold and silver from ore using a cyanide solution
  • noun
  • /ˈsaɪənaɪd ˈprɑːsɛs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : proceso de cianuro
  • The cyanide process revolutionized gold mining in the late nineteenth century.

Examples

  • Many modern mines still extract precious metals using the cyanide process.

  • Strict environmental regulations are now in place for operations that use the cyanide process.

  • The cyanide process is widely used in gold mining.

  • Many companies utilize the cyanide process for extracting silver.

  • Many modern mines still extract precious metals using the cyanide process.

  • Strict environmental regulations are now in place for operations that use the cyanide process.

  • The cyanide process revolutionized gold mining in the late nineteenth century.

Surface Forms

cyanide process singular
cyanide processes plural

Morphology

cyanide + process

The meaning is directly compositional: 'cyanide' + 'process' straightforwardly yields 'a process that uses cyanide.' This is non-idiomatic and follows regular noun‑noun compound semantics, so a B1 learner who knows both words will grasp it as an industrial/chemical procedure involving cyanide (they may not, however, infer the specific application to gold and silver without extra domain knowledge).

Etymology

Cyanide process comes from a clear image: miners soaked crushed rock in a liquid containing cyanide, and the chemical dissolved the gold so they could 'pull out' the metal. So, cyanide process means 'an industrial method to extract gold and silver from ore'.