FI119380B - Method of forming and treating nickel concentrates - Google Patents

Description

119380

MENETEU1 & NIKKELI FOR BUILDING AND PROCESSING YOUR Wealthy Ideas

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a process for the formation and treatment of sulphidic nickel concentrates containing magnesium silicates.

Such an enrichment technique is generally discussed, for example, in Gaudin, A.M. Flotation, McGraw Hill, New York, 10 (1932).

Nowadays, concentrates derived from lower quality nickel mineralizations are utilized in both pyrophoric and hydrometallurgical processes with improved quality and processability. The presence of magnesium oxide (MgO) -containing silicate 15 in nickel mineralizations very often involves processing problems. These silicates reduce the metal yields and also their concentration in the concentrates.

. • Chlorite «* * ···] ((Mg, Al, Fe) i2 (Si,), which are technically difficult and easily enriched, especially magnesium silicate-containing side-minerals such as talc (Mg 3 (OH) 2 Si 4 O 10). Al) 8020 (OH) 16) and serpentinite minerals (Mg3Si2O5 (OH) 4), but also so-called. expandable silicates such as pyroaurites (Mg 6 Fe 3 + 2 (CO 3) (OH) 16 H 2 O), hydrotalcite (Mg 6 Al 12 (CO 3) OH 16 O 2 stichtite: Y; (Mg6Cr2 (CO3) (OH) 164H2O), it is very difficult to obtain a particularly pyrometallurgical but also a hydrometallurgic. concentrates of sufficient purity for MgO- • ♦ ·:: sufficiently low.

·· »• · •» • · · | . 30 For these types of raw materials, it is difficult to find enrichment technology. . • · · 1 * · qualitatively good concentrates.

2 119380

Unsaturated concentrates have low iron (Fe) content and high MgO content due to high MgO content in the side stones. In particular, the Fe / MgO ratio is often low when the concentrates are low in iron sulfides, such as pyrrhotite (FeS) and pyrite (FeS2), or iron-containing value minerals such as pentlandite ((Fe, Ni) gSe). Minerals of this kind often contain magnetite (Fe304). In the concentrating step, precious metal magnetite coarse grains are obtained in the concentrate, the iron content of which often consists essentially of magnetite. The low Fe / MgO ratio causes difficulties in pyrometallurgical treatment because, if the MgO content of the slag produced by smelting is higher than 11%, the viscosity of the slag rises so high that it makes it difficult to remove the slag from the furnace. In hydrometallurgical processing, magnesium silicates, on the other hand, are high in acid, which is a significant cost factor.

Foaming enrichment normally produces sufficient ore concentrates of high content or mineralogically distinct ores that are highly processed further. High-grade or mineralogically ore ore is meant to mean ores that are substantially non-existent or contain low levels of hard rock minerals, especially magnesium silicates.

With these concentrates, the Fe / MgO ratio is not problematic.

• ·. Attempts have been made to reduce the concentration of MgO in the concentrate by carrying out several successive rounds of washing and washing of the concentrates using various nightmarish chemicals such as carboxymethylcellulose (CMC).

• ♦ • * * • · # • · .1 ·. If the value minerals in the ore to be recovered are ···. .

30 fine and mixed grains of high quality • · · "ί · are difficult to obtain with economically sufficient ··· * ... · yield. The production of a high purity concentrate makes the grinding very fine, that is, very high purifier ·.: degree of humor.

* «T * · 3 119380

In most cases, the concentrate is processable, especially digestible, if the ore contains sulfide minerals containing iron, such as magnetic chromium (FeS), pyrite (FeS2), pentlandite ((Fe, Ni), Se), etc., and these sulfide minerals are obtained in the concentrate. The silicates in the ore deposit may also have such properties that they are not easily enriched or can be removed from the concentrate during refining steps.

10 If the value mineral ores do not contain iron, such as millerite (NiS) ores, but contain easily enriched magnesium silicates, such as talc and serpentine, the Fe / MgO value required by pyrometallurgical treatment is extremely difficult to obtain. Iron-15 must then be obtained from minerals other than the so-called iron.

value minerals such as pyrite, pyrrhotite or magnetite.

20 Description of the Invention

A method according to claim 1 has now been invented. Other claims disclose some preferred embodiments of the invention.

***: According to the invention, the magnesium silicate particles are removed by dissolving them on the surfaces of the nickel mineral particles. at acidic pH. In this way, magnesium silicate is transported with small, · · · ·, more nickel mineral particles, especially when • · 30 is further enriched by foaming. Loose particles. can also form agglomerates with opposing silicate particles or disintegrate. Positively stabilized magnesium silicate may contain in particular serpentine and negatively charged in particular talc.

• · · • · · * · · · · · 4 · 119380

The ore is preferably milled to a range of D 50 = 10 µιη +/- 5 µm. In particular, this also reduces the amount of poorly soluble silicates.

A preferred pH range is 3 to 6, particularly preferred 3.5 to 4.5.

The process of the invention can improve the processability of concentrates. In this way, ore or concentrate which is otherwise unsuitable for processing economically and technically or which is not suitable for processing can be utilized. By using this method, the ore can be enriched in the first stage of the enrichment for further processing, or the resulting concentrate can be re-enriched into a more qualitative processable concentrate.

15

The process can improve processability by directly processing the raw materials by utilizing the solubility of magnesium silicates, or by combining ore minerals of different mineralogies or concentrates of different minerals from different ores to make them more suitable for processing.

The quality problems of concentrates are due to the properties of the minerals *, ·, ·. In addition to quartz (SiO 2) • · J / .j, side-rock minerals often contain various compounds of iron (Fe), aluminum (Al), manganese (Mn) and magnesium (Mg-), which are often associated with • · · · ··· basic hydroxides (-0H), carbonates (-CO3) and sulf. . *. phates (-SO0 and possibly magnetite (Fe304)).

«T ·, ···, Magnesium silicates are particularly difficult for both pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy.

* t · * ·; ** Stones are often soft and have a high specific surface area and high solubility. They are often * ·; ··; also easily swellable, ie water - absorbing, electrically ... · | 35 highly charged and so easily valued minerals, ·. get rich. The enrichment is also due to structural • * · * · * · factors and mixed granularity of the valuable minerals. *: with. The strong flocculation and adsorption phenomena between the valuable minerals and, in addition, other side rock minerals, such as various silicates, are characteristic of them.

Many of these magnesium-containing silicates, such as serpentine and chlorite, are naturally hydrophilic, while talc, for example, is hydrophobic. These hydrophilic magnesium oxide-containing minerals can enter the concentrate as very fine particles with the actual value mineral particles. They may be enclosed in valuable mineral particles and, upon copper activation, may be activated when copper is added to activate the slow foaming of pentlandite. This, in turn, is often due to the fact that the electrically active silicates are attached to the surfaces of the pentlandite particles.

As an enrichment process, for example, highly selective flotation may be used in the practice of the invention, which may include a number of intermediate grinds and classifications as well as refinement steps. Various known methods, such as rod or ball milling, can be used for milling.

M. · In accordance with an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it has now also been found that the grain size range differs from the conventional grain size range 50 · Φ used in flotation, D50 = 10 ·: · *; pm +/- 5 pm (D50 means that 50% of the particles have; · *. diameter smaller than the given value). In addition, suitable solution chemical conditions and the use of minerals, especially so-called "high-content" minerals, are used. • mineralization-specific characteristics of harmemine rals (pH, various signatures), which are utilized to enable processing • * '···'.

In one embodiment of the method of the present invention, *, an concentrate is obtained in which the amount of magnesium silicates has been reduced to such an extent that the concentrate is suitable for processing. «6 119380 for lurgical further processing either as such or by blending concentrate with a higher quality concentrate or by further increasing the iron content of the concentrate, for example by means of pyrite. Generally, the Fe / MgO ratio of the 5 concentrate to be treated by pyrometallurgics should be at least about 2.6. Said Fe / MgO ratio limit is a lower limit, and the higher the ratio, the better the workability. There is no similar limit for hydrometallurgy concentrate.

The Fe / MgO ratio of the concentrate may also be determined so that the slag MgO content in the pyrometallurgical treatment should not exceed 11%. If the MgO content of the slag is higher, the viscosity of the slag is so high that it is difficult to remove the slag from the furnace at the temperature at which the pyrometallurgical treatment of nickel otherwise normally occurs. Increasing the temperature naturally improves the slag fluidity, but it is not economically viable and reduces the life of the equipment. The nickel concentrate of the grade 20 which is clearly superior in quality and contains less MgO can be processed more easily either pyrometallurgically (e.g. smelting) or hydrometallurgically (eg pressure melting).

• · · • «· ♦« 1 • · *, 2:25 Residue from refining to increase the precious metal content of the concentrate is low in value mineral minerals: 1 ··, and contains high levels of side minerals and detritus; silicates, such as magnesium silicates. Waste ···. ···. depending on the quality and mainly the harmarm minerals it contains * ♦ 30 (eg serpentine, talc, etc.) that it can still be hydrometallurgically processed (especially by pressure leaching) and that an economically profitable process can be achieved. By concentrating in the original concentrates *: 2: the finely divided silicate material significantly *: ··· 35 dewatering waste under proper solution chemistry conditions .1, it is possible to achieve a higher processability of • · ·; edible concentrate, which is more suitable for processing.

• · 1 • · · 2 * · 7 119380

The invention can also be implemented by utilizing the various electrical charges of silicate minerals present in ores or concentrates or intentionally added thereto in the form of ores or concentrates. In this case, the differently charged 5 silicates counteract the effect of each other, end up in the waste and improve the quality of the concentrate. Among the most common harmful silicates in nickel concentrates, serpentine and amphibole are positive (+ sign) with zeta potential, while talc and chlorite are negative (-digent) with a wide pH range. Of the value minerals, for example, the zeta potential of pentlandite is also signifi- cant over a very wide pH range, but as the acidity increases, the zeta potential of the pentlandite decreases towards zero. The surfaces of pentlandite are significantly covered by serpentine particles with high positively charged zeta-15 potential, and pentlandite foaming is slow. The kinetics of flotation slows down and the metallurgical yield of pentlandite decreases. Talc, in turn, always foams easily due to its hydrophobicity. In this way, various ores can be combined to provide suitably opposing silicates to the slurry.

When the pH range is clearly acidic, the various Liu-ϊ, ϊ, ϊ coalesces of the silicates can also be utilized to improve the quality of the concentrates. For example, serpentine dissolves and gradually decomposes by acid under acidic conditions. As the level of oxygen ··· increases, sera with positive zeta potentials. . ·. pentipletic particles detach from the surfaces of pentlandite and · · · join with talc particles with a negative zeta potential, and these agglomerates end up in the tailings. Serpentine particles also begin to partially decompose as they dissolve as acidity increases. Thus, for example, the process of concentrate containing serpentine and talc · ...! playability can be substantially improved by reducing the amount of magnesium silicate, such as serpentine and talc, in MgO-rich concentrate.

• · · • M • · »• · · · · · • § δ 119380

The processability of concentrates containing acid-soluble magnesium silicates, such as serpentine, can be improved by raising the acidity level of the slurry, whereby the soluble magnesium silicate-5 particles release from the surface of the value mineral particles and begin to dissolve. This improves the processability of the concentrate and increases the value of the Fe / MgO ratio. However, the silicates may not need to be completely dissolved because they may more easily end up in the waste depending on their charge.

The purification and concentration of the concentrate containing easily foamable but poorly soluble magnesium silicates, such as talc and chlorite, is not possible only by acidification, since talc and chlorite are hardly soluble or poorly soluble in acids. Particularly in this case, it is advantageous to raise the precious metal content of the concentrate to a fine enough degree of grinding. This effectively separates the valuable minerals from silicates and other impurities.

Examples #

The invention is further illustrated by the following examples, of which the first, f · ·, **: 25 describes the improvement of the millerite ·; · *: nickel ore enriched with serpentine-rich nickel ore, the second describes the company. improves the processability of high-talc nickel ore • t ·, ···, enriched pentlandite concentrate, and the third shows the high talc content described above. co-enrichment of pentlandite concentrate with high serpentine content of high serpentine • · * •··.

35 Nickel ores with original millerite and talc, *. concentrates are enriched by flotation, initial treatments have been carried out conventionally using advanced selective flotation, whereby, in addition to pre-flotation, a number of flotations using silicate-heavy chemicals such as carboxymethyl cellulose (CM) are carried out. The aim has been to reduce, as far as possible, the amount of magnesium silicate which is easily foamable in the concentrate using conventional methods.

Example 1. Improving NiS Processability of Millerite Concentrate Chemical analyzes are shown in Table 1, mineralogical analyzes in Table 2, and enrichment results in Table 3. The Ni yield as a function of Ni content is shown in Figure 1.

Nickel ore (0.558% Ni, 2.8% Pe and 0.11% pentlandite-15 and 0.13% millerite) containing 78.85% serpentine and 1.19% talc is the first foamed nickel concentrate (millerite concentrate) NiS). The concentrate contained 12.4% Ni (15.52% pentlandite and 12.07% millerite), 7.08% Fe and 28.1% MgO, which consisted of serpen-20 (47.36%) and talc ( 2.62%).

In the experiments carried out, this extremely difficult to enrich serpentine and talc containing nickel concentrate, having a magnesium silicate content mainly of serpentine, was frothed. The object of the present invention was to provide an improved concentrate processability of the concentrate for the further pyrophoric or hydrometallurgical processing. at the highest dollar yield.

• «« «« «* * M M M M M M · M m m m m m m m m m M M M m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m. • • • • • • • «t · •« «M • · 10 1 1 9380

Table 1. Chemical analyzes of millerite ore and concentrate

Elements Millerite Millerite

Cast Iron Flag Rich __% __% _ _Ni__0,552__12,4_ _Cu__0,018__0,076_ _Co__0,015__0,348_ _Fe__2,81__7,08_ _S__0,39__8,89_ _MgO__41,1__28,1_ _Si02_ 34,7_ 25,2_

Table 2. Mineralogical analyzes of millerite ore and concentrate

Minerals Millerite Millerite

Pig Iron Rich __% __% _

Pentlandite__0,11__15,52_. Heazlewoodiitti__0,07__0,85_

Millerite 0.13 12.7

Vallerite 0.18 • · * ··· [Pyrrhotite ___ 0.06_ _Pyrite ___ 1.32_ M.1 Magnetite 1.37 5.64 _Magnesite__7.69.99.69_ _Serpentine__78.85__47.36_: Talc__1.19__2.62_

Chlorite 4.24 1.12 • · · 1 ~ "1 1 1" '1 * 1 10 • · • • • • • • • • 11 119380

Table 3. Enrichment results for millerite concentrate

Beginning Concentrate Front - Front - Multiplied Multiplied Waste Subst. rich rich rich rich ERI-4 ERI-4 KR4 KR4

Intake %%%%%%

Ni 12.4 26.5 97.6 40.9__93.1 0.59

Co 0.35__0 / 7__97.0__1JL__91.9 0.02

Cu 0.08 0.1 79.6__0J .__ 62.6 0.02

Fe 7.08 10.4 55.3 11.9__39.1 7.6

Mg 10,9__8_j_6__26,2__2 ^ 2__4 / L__22

MgO 16.9 14.3 26.2 3.65__4.1 36.5

Ca 0.2__CK2__39.4__0.13__16.9 0.26

Fe / 0.42 0.73 3.22 0.208

MgO ______

Since the magnesium silicate in the concentrate is predominantly 5 (47.36%) serpentine, the enrichment was carried out under acidic conditions at pH 4 (most effective pH range 3 to 6), where the serpentine particles are released by valuable minerals such as pentlandic. •, · depending on the pH level, · and · loses its foamability, ending up in the • 1e I..1 10 dewatering waste. This is clearly seen in Table 3. The Nike- * · 1 [lipid content has increased four times after 12.4% »·« 2 to 40.9% at a very high recovery (93.1%). Ker- * · !. ' the unconcentrated precursor concentration is 26.5% Ni and the yield is 97%.

Correspondingly, the Fe content increased from 7.08% to 10.4 in the pre-concentrate with a yield of 55.3%, and the content of the quadruple concentrate is 11.9% Fe and the yield 39%. The MgO content in the pre-concentrate was 14.3% and in the Four-fold concentrate 3.65% ··· *. with a yield of only 4.1%. The Fe / MgO ratio evolved from 0.42 in the original concentrate to 4.42 in the four-fold concentrate to 3.22, for example, which can be digested.

• · • · · ··· · · · 1 · • 2 2 • · 12 119380

The processability of the original concentrate has been significantly improved by utilizing the solubility of the silicate mineral serpentine in the acidic pH range and by removing the serpentine from the surfaces of the value mineral, in this case 5 pentlandite. For example, the concentrate has been rendered digestible.

Example 2. Conventionally Enhancing Processability of Talc Concentrate (Comparative Example) 10

Chemical analyzes are shown in Table 4, mineralogical analyzes in Table 5, and enrichment results in Table 6. Ni yield as a function of Ni concentration is shown in Figure 2 in connection with Example 3.

15

Talc ore (0.492% Ni, 3.15% Fe and 0.95% pentlandite and 0.27% violarite) containing 47.56% serpentine and 19.56% talc and 3.45% chlorite was first foamed nickel concentrate. The concentrate contained 6.8% Ni, 3.85% 20 pentlandite and 3.91% violarite, 17.7% Fe and 18.07% MgO, which consisted of serpentine 3.31%, talc 32.59% and 13.11% of chlorite.

Experiments carried out by flotation of this highly concentrated * 25 hard serpentine and talc containing ··· nickel concentrates, the magnesium silicate content of which consisted mainly of talc. The purpose was to improve the concentrate; ; * j Quality and Suitability in Pyro or Hydrometallurgical Advanced · ♦ ·. ** ·. for processing in the highest possible yield.

··· 30 ♦ 4 4 4 9 4 4 • 44 m * ··· '· · 4 4 444 4 • · * ·· • · • • • 4 4 4 4 4 44 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 44 4 4 13 119380

Table 4. Chemical analyzes of talc ore and concentrate

Elements Talc Ore Concentrate -1mm __% __% _ __Ni__0,492__6jJ_ __Cu__0, 028__0,29_ __Co__0,019__0,23_ __Fe__3,15__17,7_ _Mg__22,56__10,9_ _MgO__37,28__18,07_0 _a _0 08__0,98__ 5 Table 5. Mineral distributions of talc ore, talc concentrate and talc concentrate and millerite concentrate

Mineral Talc Talc Concentrated Talc + Millerite * «J. * Malmi Ai- Test 3 Test 4 • · I Γ ^ - *. **: -1 mm pt. Ri- Waste Ri- Waste% Rice% Dew% *: ··· dew KR2 KR2: ___% __% ___% __ ··· ...... '- "; ***; Pentlandite__0.95 3 , 85 26.44 6.42 26.02 0.54

Pentlandite Other 0.02 6.90 1.68 2.08 0.33 0.13. . ·. Purple__0.27 3.91 12.94 2.48 36.43 0.13 • · · .....

. ···, Heazlewoodite ____ 0.24 0.00 0.06__ '*: ** Millerite ___ 0.03 11.11 2.52 5.94 0.34

Polydymite__0.00 0.03 2.73 0.57 2.71 0.03 * · ** Gersdorf Phite__0.01 0.06 0.07 0.02 0.05 0.03: FeNi Sulfate 0.00 0.86 0.62 1.86 0.48 0.07 • · · - W '——————————————— 1 - —MPW - “• ♦. ·.: Calcosiite_______ • ·· - "'......

Bornite ___ 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 __ 14 119380

Chalcopyrite__0.01 0.83 0.79 0.10 0.39__

Vallerite__0.00 0.44 0.28 0.26 1.96 0.35

Pyrrhotite__0.81 12.39 9.69 6.54 15.25 1.87

Pyrite__0.17 2.68 4.03 1.01 3.15 0.08

Sphalerite ___ 0.02 0.04 0.01 0.03 0.01

Arsenopyrite ___ 0.05 0.00 0.01 0.03__

Magnetite__1.28 2.48 3.30 8.63 0.21 10.62

Kr omii t ti__0.03 0.22 0.08 0.27 0.01 0.38

Muscovite__0.24 0.08 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.02 Goethite__0.06 2.42 0.57 3.86 0.04 4.79

Ilmenite__0.06 0.00 0.00 0.01 ___0.01

Rutile__0.00 0.00 ___ 0.01 ___

Magnesite__16.49 4.59 0.19 5.53 0.06 4.32

Dolomite__0.97 ___ 0.01 0.09 ___ 0.19

Calcite__0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 ___ 0.00

Serpentine 4747.56 3.31 0.52 44.29 0.04 52.73

Talc__19.56 32.59 19.30 3.05 3.06 17.89

Chlorite__3.45 13.11 2.57 7.39 0.30 2.98

Biotite__0.58 3.60 0.62 0.47 0.57 0.07

Quartz__0.06 0.04 0.01 0.03 0.01 0.02

Plagioclase__0.49 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.01. Earthworm__0.02 0.00 0.02 ___ 0.00__

Tremolite 0.55 0.08 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.10 • · · 11 ..... '..................... .1 - *: ./ Epidote 0.02 0.02 0.01 * · .........

**** Titanite_ 0.00 _____

Apatitis__0.03 ____ 0.01 ___: -. V Undefined 6.31 5.39 2.11 2.37 2.86 2.31 TOTAL_ 100 100 100 '100 100 100 • ♦

The enrichment results show directly (Table 6) that there is no improvement in the value: ***: metal concentrations and Fe / MgO ratio. Ni- • · * '. the concentration is almost the same in the original concentrate as in the new * ·, 5 after delenium concentration, as is the Fe / MgO ratio. Talc is insoluble and does not react with acid in the acidic pH range normally used for foaming: at pH 4 (most effective pH range 3-6). In this way, talc in particular * · foams into the concentrate. The content of serpentine varies from 3.31 to 119380% to 0.52%, the content of chlorite from 13.11% to 2.57% but the talc content only from 32.59% to 19.30%. Serpentine and chlorite go to waste in the acidic range, but talc still easily foams according to concentrate 5 (Table 5). The original concentrate does not contain enough talc (32.59%) by weight or binding under acidic conditions to an electrically charged (+ sign) mineral such as serpentine (3.31%). Thus, the quality of the concentrate cannot be improved in a conventional manner 10 without significant loss of yield.

Table 6. Conversion results of talc concentrate

Initially Concentrated Pre-Pre-Waste Waste Substance rich rich Yield5 ERI-3 ERI-3

Yield%%%%%

Ni 6,8__7,3 41,2__6 ^ _9__58,820

Co 0.23 0.23 42.3 0.21__57.7

Cu 0.29 0.39 46.7 0.29__53.3

Fe 17.7 23.6 55.3 12.6 44.7 • · · .. 1 .......—-. ..----- - - -

Mg 10.9__3__22.4__6j_9__77.6

MgO 18.4 5.1 22.4 11.6__77.625 * "*: Ca 0.29__0_j_2__29__0 ^ 3__71

Fe / 0.96 1.28 1.07

MgO

·· · - 30 • * *

Example 3. Co-flotation of a mixture of talc-containing pentlandite concentrate and whey concentrates by the process of the invention φ · • ·. 35 The foaming of the original talc concentrate can be improved • «*. "by adding serpentine-containing millerite concentrate, · · ·. **: because talc has a zeta potential (- sign) and serpentine positive (+ sign) acid 119380 16 miles in the pH range (most effective pH range 3-6). the chelates are released from the surfaces of already negatively charged value mineral particles such as pentlandite and more strongly bind negatively charged talc particles at that pH range. healing and serpentine-talc 10 agglomerates go to tailings.

Chemical analysis of millerite concentrate is shown in Table 1 and mineralogical analysis in Table 2.

Chemical analysis of talc concentrate is shown in Table 4 and mineralogical analysis in Table 5.

The enrichment results from the combined flotation of millerite concentrate and talc concentrate are shown in Table 7 and Figure 2.

20 * · • ♦ · «« • · · · · · «· · • 1 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ··· ··· ···

Table 7. Results of co-enrichment of talc and millerite concentrates

Beginning Concentrate Front - Front - Multiplied Multiplied Waste Subst. rich rich rich rich ERI-4 ERI-4 KR2 KR2

Yield Yield%%%%%%

Ni 6.8__15.5 97.5 22.6__88.1__0.59

Co 0.23 0.5__97.4 0.77__89.4__0.02

Cu 0.29 0.3__91.4 0.42__81.5__0.04

Fe 17.7 17.1 78.2 22.7__64.1__7.01

Mg 10.9 4.3__26.1 0.85__3j_2__17.7

MqO 18.1 7.1__26.1 1.41__3_ ^ 2__29.4

Ca 0.29 0.2__45.3 0.13__23,9__0.27

Fe / 0.98 2.41 16.1 0.24

MgO ______ 5

Co-enrichment is accomplished by flotation of a mixture containing equal amounts of talc (50%) and millerite concentrate (50%) in an acidic pH range of pH 4 (most effective pH range 3-6).

t ·!, 1 ·· Talc concentrate contained 3.31% serpentine, 32.59% talc: t ”: 10 and 3.45% chlorite. Millerite concentrate, in turn, ·; ··· 47.36% serpentine, 2.62% talc and 1.12% chlorite.

. .1. The results of the joint enrichment (Tables 5 and 7) show that * ··. ···. the concentration of Ni in the doubled concentrate (KR2) • · is 22.6% with a yield of 88.1%. For precursor concentrate-. 15 corresponding to a Ni content of 15.5% and a yield of 97.5%. The Fe content • · »(KR2) is 22.7% Fe and the MgO content (KR2) is 1.41% in a yield of 3.2%. The Fe / MgO ratio is 16.1, which allows the pyr *: 2: rometallurgical treatment of the concentrate, for example, by melting. The Fe / MgO ratio of the precursor is also 2.41 and almost digestible.

, 20 Silicates thus electronically charged • »· j (+ sign of serpentine and sign talc) have abolished • t · 2 '·" the effects of each other and the flotation of precious metals have been kinetically accelerated and the enrichment result clearly improved "also arithmetically.

By doing so, that is to say, utilizing the different precautionary characteristics of the silicates under various pH conditions, it improves the quality of the concentrates and their suitability for further processing of both pyrophoric and hydrometallurgical.

It can be seen from Tables 5 and 7 that the resulting concentrate is a more suitable concentrate on all sides for the pyro and hydrometallurgical processing than the original concentrate shown in Table 5. Concentrations are expressed as weight percent.

The tables show that both concentrates from the original Rich 15 can be utilized in a technically and economically meaningful way.

Thus, the choice of process metallurgical treatment for concentrate is simple, depending on the requirements of the respective metallurgical treatment.

· • »» »· · · 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · Reg to next

Claims (6)

119380 A process for forming and treating sulfuric magnesium silicate-containing nickel concentrates, characterized in that the sulfuric magnesium silicate-containing nickel ores are used to form an concentrate slurry and to adsorb on the surfaces of the nickel mineral particles by the adsorption of magnesium silicate particles. 10 Process according to Claim 1, characterized in that a concentrated slurry is formed which contains both positively charged magnesium silicate material and negatively charged magnesium silicate material, wherein the opposed charged magnesium silicates form agglomerates. A process according to claim 2, characterized in that the positively charged magnesium silicate substance contains serpentine or that the negatively charged magnesium silicate substance contains talc. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that the decomposed magnesium silicate is allowed to decompose. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the processability of the concentrate is further improved by flotation of the concentrate. • · • · • e · 6. A process as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the ore is milled to a grain size range of D50 = 10 · e · · · · · · pm · +/– 5 mm. · • · · • m · • M • · 119380