Pressure acid leaching of arid-region nickel laterite ore: Part II. Effect of ore type

A comparison of the leach chemistry and residue mineralogy has been carried out on the pressure acid leaching of nontronite, limonite and saprolite ores, using hypersaline water. Results are also compared with a typical arid-region laterite feed from Bulong, which consists of a blend of these ore types. Particular emphasis is placed on the influence of ore type on liquor analysis of iron, aluminium and magnesium, residue mineralogy and nickel extraction. Microprobe evidence is presented that incomplete nickel extraction results from the presence of unreacted minor phases present in the original ore, or from the presence of nickel in the amorphous silica, in apparent association with magnesium.