PROCESSES FOR EXTRACTION OF NICKEL WITH IRON-COMPLEXING AGENT

• Main Authors: DIXON, DAVID G, FISCHMANN, ADAM J
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 02.12.2010
• Subjects: CHEMISTRY; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION ORPROCESSING OF GOODS; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; METALLURGY; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS; PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS

The invention provides, in part, a process for extracting nickel from a source material including iron and nickel, by contacting the source material (e.g, an ultramafic ore) with an aqueous ammonia solution containing an iron-complexing agent (e.g., citrate) under suitable conditions, thereby extracting the nickel. The aqueous ammonia solution may optionally contain a sulfur-containing reductant, such as thiosulfate. L'invention concerne, en partie, un procédé d'extraction de nickel à partir d'un matériau source contenant du fer et du nickel, par mise en contact du matériau source (p. ex. un minerai ultrabasique) avec une solution aqueuse d'ammoniac contenant un agent complexant le fer (p. ex. citrate) dans des conditions appropriées, ce qui permet d'extraire le nickel. La solution aqueuse d'ammoniac peut éventuellement contenir un réducteur contenant du soufre, tel que le thiosulfate.