NICKEL AND COBALT SULPHIDE PRECIPITATION A PROVEN METHOD OF SELECTIVE METAL PRECIPITATION IN LATERITE PROCESS FLOWSHEETS

摘要

The precipitation of nickel and cobalt as mixed sulphides with hydrogen sulphide gas has been used successfully at Moa Bay, Cuba, since the plant started operations in 1959. Two other HPAL laterite processing plants, Murrin in Australia and Coral Bay on southern Palawan Island, Philippines, are using a similar process route whilst a new plant, Ambatovy, currently under construction near Toamasina in Madagascar, contemplate also a mixed sulphide precipitation stage in the flowsheet. This paper analyses the impact of the main process parameters on the recovery of nickel and cobalt and provides a comparison between the high pressure and low pressure systems currently in use. The paper also comments on issues to be taken into consideration during the plant design.