Behaviour of iron at the Ambatovy nickel operation in Madagascar

摘要

Laterite ore processed by the Ambatovy joint venture in Madagascar is primarily limonitic in nature, containing approximately 40-45 wt.% Fe and 1.1 wt.% Ni. The process selected for treatment of this ore considered the behaviour and deportment of iron in each step of the commercial flowsheet. Such considerations included nickel and cobalt recoveries, reagent consumptions, liquid-solid separation characteristics, and intermediate and final product purities. In this paper, the results for the first three years of commercial operation at Ambatovy are compared with the design parameters, with emphasis on the behaviour of iron.