Wood shaving fly ash was used as an alternative adsorbent for gold preconcentration from gold slag. The maximum gold adsorption capacity of wood shaving fly ash washed with tap water (WSFW) at 20, 30, 40, and 60 degrees C was 8.68, 7.79, 7.44, and 7.25 mg(Au)/g(adsorbent), respectively, while of activated carbon it was 76.78, 60.95 56.13, and 51.90 mg(Au)/g(adsorbent), respectively. Deionized water at 100 degrees C could elute gold adsorbed onto WSFW to 71%. The effect of the increasing temperature of water, 30, 60, and 100 degrees C, implied that the adsorption mechanism was mainly physical adsorption. The negative values of enthalpy change (Delta H) and free energy change (Delta G) indicated an exothermic and spontaneous process, respectively. The positive values of entropy change (Delta S) indicated increasing disorder of the system. The advantages of wood shaving fly ash are the purification of gold and the easier recycling of gold from the gold-adsorbed adsorbent. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.