Nickel ore
Nickel ore is an ore that contains nickel often found in nature and often enriched through industrial processes. Non-ferrous ores, ores of nickel, copper, zinc and lead, are collectively called sulfide ores. When nickel ore comes in contact with air and water, it forms nickel oxide, which smokes in the air and because of this, it is forbidden to use it in closed areas. Nickel is a toxic element and human body with too much nickel and nickel compounds is toxic to health.
The most important nickel ore is pentlandite, which contains 78-89% nickel in the form of nickel pyrite and other sulphides. Nickel is recovered from the ore mainly by concentrating and leaching or flotation and magnetic separation. The sulfide ore is usually mixed with other non-metallic minerals such as quartz, carbonates, pyrrhotite and magnetite. Its chemical formula is Ni(Fe, Ni)3(OH)6.
Ni-Fe sulfide ores are the most valuable nickel ores, with higher nickel content than oxide ores. Ni-Fe laterite ore is also called laterite type nickel ore, which is composed of nickel, iron and aluminium. Nickel laterite ore has excellent physical and chemical properties, and is widely used in producing stainless steel and other metal alloys. The nickel content of Ni-Fe laterite ore is usually 2-4%, and the beneficiation process is usually the chemical leaching method, and the recovery rate is usually around 40-50%.
Nickel ore is widely used in metallurgy, chemical, electric power and other industries. It is the main raw material for nickel smelting. Nickel ore is mainly used in the production of nickel-containing alloys, as well as hydrogenation agent, mobile agent and nickel pigment. In addition, it is also used to produce chemical products such as nickel salt and nickel-containing drugs.
Nickel ore is also widely used in the production of stainless steel and some other alloy materials, such as superalloys, glass, cutting tools, catalyst support, machinery parts, battery electrodes, desulfurization equipment, etc. In terms of smelting process, nickel ore can be divided into blast furnace smelting and electric furnace smelting.
In conclusion, nickel ore is a valuable resource for industry, and its industrial extraction process is relatively complex. A variety of processes need to be used to extract nickel from the ore, including melting-mechanical separation, flotation, chemical leaching, magnetic separation and ore atmospheric pressure leaching. The successful exploitation of nickel ore will further improve the global production capacity of nickel.
