Extraction of metals from complex sulfide nickel concentrates by low-temperature chlorination roasting and water leaching

The recovery of valuable metals from complex sulfide concentrates was investigated via chlorination roasting followed by water leaching. A reaction process is proposed on the basis of previous studies and the results of our preliminary experiments. During the process, various process parameters were studied, including the roasting temperature, the addition of NH4Cl, the roasting time, the leaching time, and the liquid-to-solid ratio. The roasted products and leach residues were characterized by X-ray diffraction and vibrational spectroscopy. Under the optimum condition, 95% of Ni, 98% of Cu, and 88% of Co were recovered. In addition, the removal of iron was studied in the water leaching stage. The results demonstrate that this process provides an effective approach for extracting multiple metals from complex concentrates or ores. © 2017, University of Science and Technology Beijing and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Reductive kinetics of Panzhihua ilmenite with hydrogen

The hydrogen reduction of Panzhihua ilmenite concentrate in the temperature range of 900?1050 °C was systematicallyinvestigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) methods. It wasshown that the products of the Panzhihua ilmenite reduced at 900 °C were metallic iron and rutile. Above 1000 °C, ferrouspseudobrookite solid solution was generated. During the reduction process, element Mg gradually concentrated to form Mg-rich zonewhich can influence the metallization process. The reduction reaction proceeded topochemically and its related reduction kineticswere also discussed. The kinetics of the reduction indicated that the rate-controlling step was the diffusion process. The apparentactivation energy of the hydrogen reduction of Panzhihua ilmenite was calculated to be 117.56 kJ/mol, which was larger than that ofsynthetic ilmenite under the same reduction condition.