What Techniques Separate Nickel Minerals from Crushed Ore?
Time:
29 June 2021
Separating nickel minerals from crushed ore typically involves several techniques that aim to concentrate the desired minerals and remove gangue materials. These techniques include:
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Comminution (Crushing and Grinding):
- The ore is crushed and ground to liberate the nickel-containing minerals from the host rock or gangue. This step is essential to ensure that subsequent separation methods are effective.
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Froth Flotation:
- Froth flotation is one of the most common methods used to separate nickel-bearing minerals from gangue.
- The pulverized ore is mixed with water and specific chemical reagents such as collectors, frothers, and pH modifiers. Air is introduced, forming bubbles to which the nickel minerals attach and float to the surface as froth for recovery, while gangue minerals sink.
- For sulphide nickel minerals such as pentlandite, flotation is highly effective.
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Magnetic Separation:
- Magnetic separation may be employed if magnetically susceptible nickel minerals such as pyrrhotite are present in the ore.
- A magnetic separator can concentrate these minerals by attracting them, leaving the non-magnetic gangue behind.
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Gravity Separation:
- Gravity methods like spirals, shaking tables, or dense media separation (DMS) are sometimes used for ores with significant density differences between the nickel minerals and gangue.
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Hydrometallurgical Processes:
- For laterite nickel ores (rich in nickel oxides), pyrometallurgical techniques may be replaced by leaching processes, using acids or alkalis to dissolve the nickel. The nickel can then be recovered by precipitation, solvent extraction, or electrolysis.
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Smelting and Refining:
- In some processes, the concentrated ore is smelted to produce a nickel-rich matte, which is then refined further using hydrometallurgical techniques.
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Selective Flocculation:
- This method involves adding reagents that selectively bind to the nickel minerals but not to the gangue, allowing the desired particles to form clumps that can be separated.
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High-Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL):
- For laterite ores, HPAL is used to extract nickel by treating the crushed ore with acid under high pressure and temperature.
Each of these techniques is selected based on the mineralogical composition of the ore (sulphide vs. laterite ores), the desired purity levels, and economic considerations. Often, a combination of these methods is used in a full processing plant.
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