Production of high grade nickel product

摘要

A process for the production of a high grade nickel product including the steps of: a) providing at least one heap of a nickeliferous lateritic ore and leaching that heap with a suitable lixiviant, preferably sulfuric acid solution, to produce a nickel rich pregnant leach solution (PLS); b) subjecting the PLS to an impurity removal step to precipitate ferric iron, and preferably partially precipitate aluminum and chromium as hydroxides; and c) recovering a high grade nickel product from the PLS preferably by either nickel ion exchange, solvent extraction, electrowinning, conventional multi-stage neutralization, pyrohydrolysis or sulfidation.

主权项

1. A process for the production of a high grade nickel product comprising:
a. providing at least a primary heap and a secondary heap of a nickeliferous lateritic ore and leaching at least the secondary heap with a lixiviant that includes a sulfuric acid solution to produce an intermediate leach solution, wherein at least part of the intermediate leach is solution is used to leach the primary heap in a counter current or part counter current heap leach process to produce a nickel rich pregnant leach solution (PLS); b. subjecting the PLS to an impurity removal step to precipitate ferric iron, and partially precipitate aluminum and chromium as hydroxides; and c. recovering a high grade nickel product from the PLS by at least one of nickel ion exchange, solvent extraction, electrowinning, multi-stage neutralization, pyrohydrolysis or sulfidation.