R.G. McDonald

Pressure acid leaching of arid-region nickel laterite ore: Part I: effect of water quality

The effect of water salinity on the reactions occurring during pressure acid leaching of an arid-region laterite ore, using hypersaline water, seawater, sub-potable water and tap water, is examined. Particular emphasis is placed on the mineralogy of the residue and its implications with regard to residue volume/mass, overall acid consumption and nickel extraction. Analysis of a pressure acid leach residue by electron microprobe indicates that the residual nickel is present in phases that contain silicon and varying concentrations of aluminium, but are deficient in sulphur. Incomplete extraction of nickel from the ore may not be attributed to any one mineral phase.

Pressure acid leaching of arid-region nickel laterite ore: Part II. Effect of ore type

A comparison of the leach chemistry and residue mineralogy has been carried out on the pressure acid leaching of nontronite, limonite and saprolite ores, using hypersaline water. Results are also compared with a typical arid-region laterite feed from Bulong, which consists of a blend of these ore types. Particular emphasis is placed on the influence of ore type on liquor analysis of iron, aluminium and magnesium, residue mineralogy and nickel extraction. Microprobe evidence is presented that incomplete nickel extraction results from the presence of unreacted minor phases present in the original ore, or from the presence of nickel in the amorphous silica, in apparent association with magnesium.

Quantitative X-ray diffraction phase analysis of poorly ordered nontronite clay in nickel laterites

Studies of the extraction of nickel from low-grade laterite ores require a much better quantitative understanding of the poorly ordered mineral phases present, including turbostratically disordered nontronite. Whole pattern refinements with nontronite X-ray diffraction data from a Western Australian nickel deposit (Bulong) using a nontronite lattice model (Pawley phase) with two space groups (P3 and C2/m) and a peaks phase group model were performed to improve the accuracy of quantitative X-ray diffraction of nickel laterite ore samples. Modifications were applied when building the new models to accommodate asymmetric peak shape and anisotropic peak broadening due to the turbostratic disorder. Spherical harmonics were used as convolution factors to represent anisotropic crystal size and strain and asymmetric peak shape when using the lattice model. A peaks phase group model was also developed to fit the anisotropic peak broadening in the nontronite pattern. The quantitative results of the new Pawley phase and peaks phase group models were compared and verified with synthetic mixtures of nontronite, quartz and goethite simulating various West Australian laterite ore compositions. The models developed in this paper demonstrate adequate accuracy for quantification of nontronite in the synthesized reference materials and should be generally applicable to quantitative phase analysis of nontronite in nickel laterite ore samples.

Quantitative analysis of turbostratically disordered nontronite with a supercell model calibrated by the PONKCS method

Two calibration-based quantitative X-ray diffraction (XRD) models for turbostratically disordered Bulong nontronite, the PONKCS (partial or no known crystal structure) approach and the supercell structural model, were compared in terms of the accuracy and refinement error from Rietveld quantitative phase analysis. The PONKCS approach achieved improved nontronite quantitative results with synchrotron diffraction patterns compared with those achieved with laboratory XRD data as a result of better data quality and the use of Debye–Scherrer geometry with significantly reduced preferred orientation effects. The introduction of a peak shape modifier (spherical harmonics) to correct the quantification result is mainly useful for laboratory XRD patterns containing nontronite collected from Bragg–Brentano geometry with appreciable preferred orientation effects. A novel calibration approach for the nontronite supercell model was developed, based on the Rietveld quantitative formula in the TOPAS symbolic computation system. The calibrated supercell model achieved better accuracy (deviation within 1 wt%) and lower refinement error than the PONKCS approach because the physically based description of turbostratic disorder requires fewer refinable parameters than the PONKCS approach. The drawbacks and limitations of the supercell approach are also discussed.

Nickel Loss during Iron Precipitation and Product Characterization

In this study, the iron precipitation and associated nickel loss from synthetic ferric and nickel sulphate solutions were investigated. Two types of common neutralizing agents, magnesium oxide and calcium carbonate were applied in the investigation. The results indicated that pH and temperature had significant impacts on nickel loss during the iron precipitation process, whereas the type of neutralizing agents had little effect. It was found that increasing in pH and temperature resulted in more nickel loss in the pH range of 2 to 4 and temperature range of 25 to 85 °C. Mineralogical examination by XRD indicated that the iron precipitates were combinations of schwertmannite, ferrihydrite and goethite. In addition, more crystalline goethite was formed from the ferric solutions when no nickel was present, indicating that nickel might play a role in inhabiting the crystallization of goethite.