Leaching metals from saprolitic laterite ore using a ferric chloride solution

摘要

In this work, FeCl3 solution was used as a lixiviant to leach Ni, Co, Mg, and Mn from saprolitic laterite ore. Investigation into the leaching of these metals and the precipitation of Fe in the lixiviant, found the optimal leaching conditions to be a temperature of 150 degrees C, a Fe concentration in the lixiviant of 178.9 g/L, a liquid to solid ratio (L/S) of 1.0, and a leaching time of 90 min. The kinetics of the leaching process was also discussed. Saprolitic ore with and without goethite seeds was leached using FeCl3 solution under identical conditions. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, infrared spectrometry (IR), and mineral liberation analysis (MLA) were used to characterize the leached residues. The leaching mechanism was analyzed based on these results. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.