Process improvements of ferronickel production at Falconbridge Dominicana

摘要

Falconbridge Dominicana is an integrated lateriticmining, oil refinery, powder plant and metallurgical facilitylocated in Bonao, Dominican Republic. The presence ofFalcondo in the country dates back to 1956. The process toproduce ferronickel metal from laterites was developed througha sequence of laboratory and pilot plant investigations duringthe sixties. The commercial process plant was commissionedwith the first metal tapping in October of 1971. Due to changesin the nature of the ore, the nickel grade of the feed to theprocess plant has decreased over the years, while the silica tomagnesia ratio has increased. Improvements to overcome theseproblems have focused on increasing the nickel upgrading to theshaft furnaces and the Operation of the electrical furnaces atultrahigh voltages. This paper will be giving an overview on thepresent state of Falcondo operations.