The adhesion behaviour of gold particles to agglomerates of oil and carbon and the dynamic changes of the agglomerates during the contact process have been investigated. It is shown that the rate of adhesion of gold particles to agglomerates can be significantly increased by using xanthate collectors. It is further demonstrated that the longer the hydrocarbon chain of the xanthate molecule, the greater the rate of adhesion of gold to the agglomerates. The adsorbed gold particles do not markedly affect the adsorption activity of the agglomerates, i.e.. recycling the agglomerates to increase the gold loading is feasible. Examination of gold-loaded agglomerates by scanning electron microscopy showed that in addition to individual gold particles, gold "flocs" and even "micronuggets" can be detected on the agglomerates. These flocs and nuggets are probably formed by the movement of initially adsorbed gold particles over the surface of the agglomerates. Both the composition and structure of the agglomerates change during the contact process. The oil tends to diffuse out of the agglomerates, and their oil content decreases with agitation. The gold particles can also migrate into the interior of the agglomerates due to their deformation resulting from agitation impact. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.