Mineralogical Characterization of Limonitic Laterite from Africa and Its Proposed Processing Route
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Mineralogical Characterization of Limonitic Laterite from Africa and Its Proposed Processing Route Ding Zhao1 · Baozhong Ma1,2 · Bingding Shi1 · Zhengen Zhou1 · Peng Xing1 · Chengyan Wang1,3 Received: 31 December 2019 / Accepted: 11 August 2020 © The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society 2020
Abstract The mineralogical characterization and occurrence of target elements in limonitic laterite from Africa was comprehensively studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy energy spectrum (SEM–EDS), and optical microscope (OM) measurements. The results suggest that laterite ore has a complex internal structure. In the limonitic laterite, the contents of Ni, Co, and Fe are 1.14%, 0.16%, and 45.91%, respectively. The limonitic laterite mainly contains 72.2% iron oxide/oxyhydroxide, 9.37% silicate, 6.22% chlorite. Limonite, chlorite, and manganese oxide are the main nickel carrier with distribution rates of 60.98%, 22.65%, and 13.94%, respectively. Cobalt is hosted in manganese oxides and iron oxides, respectively. Additionally, Au, Pt, Pd, and Ag are also detected in the limonitic laterite. Gold, platinum, and silver are mainly found in their native metals. Palladium is mainly dispersed in the iron minerals. Furthermore, the route of rotary kiln-electric furnace (RKEF) was selected to this limonitic laterite; the results demonstrate that comprehensive recovery efficiency of Ni, Co, Fe is high with recovery rate of 98.72%, 98.38%, 54.89%, respectively. Notably, the majority of noble metals such as Au, Pt, Pd are enriched in crude ferronickel. Graphical Abstract
Keywords Limonitic laterite · Mineralogical analysis · Proposed processing route · Comprehensive utilization The contributing editor for this article was D. Panias. * Baozhong Ma [email protected] * Chengyan Wang [email protected] Extended author information available on the last page of the article
Introduction Nickel is a silver-white metal widely applied in stainless steel [1, 2], battery material [3, 4], electroplating, catalyst, ceramic and other fields, because of its high melting point,
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Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy
corrosion resistance, and strong magnetic properties [5]. 2.15 million tons of nickel were consumed in 2017 over the world, which was increased by 5.5% compared with that in 2016. Moreover, the stainless steel consumption in China grows at a rate of 25% per year [6–8] and the consumption of nickel is also gradually expanding to other fields [9]. For example, the rapid development of new energy vehicles has stimulated the consumption of nickel sulfate, which leave a huge room for nickel’s consumption further growth [10, 11]. Nickel sulfide and nickel oxide ores are the two primary resources for nickel production [12]. Nickel sulfide ores are mainly distributed in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, such as Canada, Russia, and northern China. Nickel oxide ores, namely, nickel laterite ores, can be found largely in equatorial regions, such as New Caledonia, Indonesia,
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