RESIN-IN-PULP METHOD FOR RECOVERY OF NICKEL AND COBALT FROM OXIDIC ORE LEACH SLURRY

摘要

A process is provided for the direct recovery of nickel and cobalt from a nickeliferous oxide ore leach slurry by ion exchange. A nickeliferous ore is leached with mineral acid to solubilize the metals. The resulting leach slurry is contacted with ion exchange resin, which selectively loads the nickel and cobalt from the pulp. The resin is separated from the leach slurry by screening and then stripped with an acidic solution. After stripping, the resin is returned to the loading cycle. Nickel and/or cobalt can be recovered in substantially pure form from the eluate by known processes. The metal-depleted slurry proceeds to waste treatment and disposal. This process eliminates the difficult solid/liquid separation, which could otherwise be required to recover metals values from the pregnant leach slurry.