Cobalt and Nickel from Lead-Smelter Matte: Purification of Leach Liquor

摘要

Research by the Bureau of Mines includes efforts to devise means for maximum recovery of critical and strategic metals from primary and secondary domestic resources. As part of that effort, the Bureau developed a hydrometallurgical process to recover Co, Ni, and Cu from Missouri lead-smelter matte. The report is concerned primarily with liquor purification, in which As and Fe are removed from the leach liquor by pH adjustment and filtration. Two variations of the purification step are described. One variation provides liquor containing <1 mg/L As and Fe but requires two solid-liquid separations. The other is achieved with only one solid-liquid separation but leads to a lower degree of purification.