Nickel sulfide ore treatment
Nickel sulfide ore is a disseminated sulfide ore containing nickel and iron minerals. Since the ore grain size is fine and the disseminated grain size is fine, it is difficult to obtain high-grade concentrate. Due to the poor beneficiation index of the ore and the high water content of the ore, it is difficult to obtain a good beneficiation index through flotation processing, so microbial ore dressing should be considered.
Microbial leaching is a process in which microbes oxidize and dissolve metal ions in ores and tailings. By using microbes as catalysts, metal ions and sulfur-containing compounds can be leached. The dissolution rate of metal ions is accelerated, and the recovery rate of metals is improved. As a result, this method can be used to treat ores with low grade, large scale and complex composition.
The effects of microbial leaching can be enhanced by adding nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Adding these nutrients will provide an energy source for the microbes to enhance their leaching and oxidation rates, thus improving the recovery rate. In addition, by controlling the oxidation-reduction environment, pH value and adding surface activator, appropriate mineral species and metal surface active agents can be obtained, so that the leaching rate of metal ions can be further improved, and a better and higher grade of concentrate can be obtained.
The nickel sulfide ore will be firstly crushed and then grinded into fine particles. Then it will be subjected to flotation processing, and the concentrated nickel sulfide ore will be obtained. In the following step, the nickel sulfide ore will be fed to a microbial leaching reactor, and the leaching liquid containing nickel and iron ions will be collected. The leaching liquid will be circulated in the reactor, and reactors temperature and oxidation-reduction environment will be monitored and adjusted. Therefore, the metal ions can react with the surface active agents and be leached, and then the metal components in the leaching liquid can be separated by electrolysis or precipitation, so as to obtain the concentrated nickel oxide.
In summary, the nickel sulfide ore can be treated by flotation and microbial leaching in combination. First of all, through flotation, the nickel sulfide ore can be coarsely enriched, and then through microbial leaching, the leaching liquid containing nickel and iron ions can be obtained, and then the metal components can be separated from the leaching liquid, so as to obtain the concentrated nickel oxide. Thus, this method can effectively improve the beneficiation index of the ore and obtain a higher grade of concentrate.
