？
Nickel Ore
Nickel ore is an important ore resource in nature, and it has wide application in scientific research and daily life. It is mainly used for processing of nickel and its alloys, and can also be used for processing of other metals and rare earth elements, providing effective raw materials for nickel-based industry.
Nickel ore is mainly divided into two categories: laterite nickel ore and sulfide nickel ore. Laterite nickel ore is mainly composed of nickel-containing limonite, saprolite and garnierite. The content of nickel in laterite nickel ore is generally 1% ~ 2%, and it generally contains cobalt, iron, silicon and other elements. The nickel-containing minerals found in sulfide nickel ore include pentlandite, millerite, mondorite, brownmillerite and cooperite. The content of nickel in sulfide nickel ore may reach 10%, and its industrial grade generally has a content of 3.5% ~ 9%.
Nickel ore is generally produced in complex multicycle continuous mining. With the continuous improvement of mining depth, the proportion of deep ore sources in the ore supply of nickel focus more and more attention from the industry. At present, the main deep-seam niche ore in China is mainly the laterite nickel ore mined from the depth of more than 70 meters in the surface. The ore grade of laterite nickel ore decreases with the deepening of mining.
At present, most of the laterite nickel ore is transported for processing, and it is mainly used to extract nickel-iron alloy, metallic nickel and cobalt oxide. Different processes are used for different kinds of laterite nickel ore. Laterite nickel ore with low iron content is generally smelted to obtain ferronickel alloy, while laterite nickel ore with high iron content can be processed by sintering roasting or direct reduction smelting method. And the metallic nickel and cobalt oxide obtained by smelting can be further extracted by pressure leaching and flotation method.
The sulfide nickel ore is mainly processed by flotation or hydrometallurgy method. The flotation method uses the difference in floatability between nickel containing minerals and gangue minerals to separate nickel and copper. Through the addition of appropriate collectors and foaming agents, the nickel and copper minerals are selectively collected and then separated by the surface properties of different minerals. Hydrometallurgy is the process of extracting nickel from sulfide nickel ore by leaching and extracting agent, and then separating the nickel from the leaching solution. The raw ore is acidified, and then iron and sulfur containing materials are separated through pretreatment, and nickel and copper containing materials are washed and dissolved by reducing acid leaching. After being treated by electrowinning and dry distillation, nickel is finally obtained.
Nickel ore has a wide range of applications, used in fields such as metallurgy, electrochemistry and energy. In terms of metallurgy, it can be used to produce nickel and its various alloys, and is an important raw material in the processing of ferronickel and stainless steels. In electrochemistry, it can be used to produce various nickel salts and nickel-based catalyst. In energy production, it is mainly used to produce nickel oxyhydroxide and other nickel containing compounds to manufacture nickel-cadmium batteries and nickel-metal hydride batteries.
