Carbonaceous gold mines are important refractory gold ores. The previous results demonstrate that the carbonaceous matter is mainly composed of elemental carbon, organic acid and hydrocarbons. The dissolved aurocyanide complex is robbed by adsorption of carbonaceous matter, which is similar to activated carbon in cyanide leaching of gold. The pretreatment methods of carbonaceous gold ores were introduced, including high temperature roasting, bio-oxidation, chemical oxidation, competitive adsorption, barrier inhibition and microwave roasting. Recently, bio-oxidation was developed rapidly due to its advantages such as mild conditions, simple processes, low energy consumption and friendly environment. The known microorganisms related with bio-oxidation pretreatment mainly are chemolithotroph bacteria such as Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, Thiobacillus thiooxidans and Leptospirillum ferrooxidans. The researches on decomposing and passivating carbonaceous matter were commenced by Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Pseudomonadaceae and Streptomyces setonii. Finally, the main problems were analyzed and the application prospect of this technique was looked forward.
