Atmospheric hydrochloric and nitric acid leaching of a limonite ore from the Wolo mine area, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

Sufriadin; Malyanus  YEPTA; Irzal  NUR; Purwanto; Rizky  AMALIA; Ulva Ria  IRFAN; Djabal Nur  BASIR; Tsubasa  OTAKE

doi:10.55713/jmmm.v34i1.1875

Authors

Sufriadin Department of Mining Engineering, Hasanuddin University, Kampus Teknik UNHAS, Jl. Poros Malino KM.6, Bontomarannu, Gowa 92171, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia
Malyanus YEPTA Department of Mining Engineering, Hasanuddin University, Kampus Teknik UNHAS, Jl. Poros Malino KM.6, Bontomarannu, Gowa 92171, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia
Irzal NUR Department of Mining Engineering, Hasanuddin University, Kampus Teknik UNHAS, Jl. Poros Malino KM.6, Bontomarannu, Gowa 92171, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia
Purwanto Department of Mining Engineering, Hasanuddin University, Kampus Teknik UNHAS, Jl. Poros Malino KM.6, Bontomarannu, Gowa 92171, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia
Rizky AMALIA Department of Mining Engineering, Hasanuddin University, Kampus Teknik UNHAS, Jl. Poros Malino KM.6, Bontomarannu, Gowa 92171, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia
Ulva Ria IRFAN Department of Geological Engineering, Hasanuddin University, Kampus Teknik UNHAS, Jl. Poros Malino KM.6, Bontomarannu, Gowa 92171, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia
Djabal Nur BASIR Department of Chemistry, Hasanuddin University, Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan KM.10, Tamalanrea, Makassar 90245, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia
Tsubasa OTAKE Division of Sustainable Resources Engineering, Hokkaido University, Kita 13 Nishi 8, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55713/jmmm.v34i1.1875

Keywords:

Limonite ore, X-ray diffraction, Goethite, Hydrochloric acid, Nitric acid

Abstract

The atmospheric acid leaching studies of a limonite ore sample from the Wolo mine area, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, have been performed using hydrochloric acid (HCl) and nitric acid (HNO₃). The objectives of these studies were to compare the leaching degree of metals (Ni, Co, Fe, and Al) and to analyze the dissolution behavior of minerals under different acid concentrations. Mineralogical characterization of the ore sample was conducted using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction, whereas chemical composition was determined by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), respectively. An atmospheric leaching test was done with the variables of acid concentration, leaching duration of 90 min, and leaching temperature of 100℃. Limonite ore samples contain goethite, gibbsite, talc, quartz, and lizardite. It was revealed that as much as 92.22% of Ni and 90.14% of Fe could be leached using 3 M HCl, whereas only 63.14% of Ni and 38.74% of Fe could be extracted from limonite ore using 3 M HNO₃. The higher leaching degree of Fe in HCl indicates low selectivity with Ni, which might contaminate pregnant leach solution (PLS), leading to further complications in the purification process. Results of the leaching experiment show that goethite was more easily dissolved in HCl than in HNO₃.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Nickel Institute, “About Nickel”. https://nickelinstitute.org/

about-nickel/. Accessed on 17 August 2023.

C. R. M. Butt, and D. Cluzel, “Nickel laterite ore deposits: weathered serpentinites,” Elements, vol. 9, pp. 123-128, 2013.

U.S. Geological Survey, “Mineral commodity summaries”: U.S. Geological Survey, 210 p, 2023. https://doi.org/10.3133/

mcs2023US, Accessed on 15 October 2023.

A. Ito, T. Otake, A. Maulana, K. Sanematsu, Sufriadin, and T. Sato, “Geochemical constraints on the mobilization on the mobilization of Ni and critical metals in laterite deposits, Sulawesi, Indonesia: A mass-balance approach”, Resources Geology, vol.71, pp. 255-282, 2021.

V. I. Lakshmanan, R. Sridhar, J. Chen, and M. A. Halim, “Development of mixed-chloride hydrometallurgical processes for the recovery of value metals from various resources”, Transaction of Indian Institute of Metallurgy, vol. 69, pp. 39-50, 2016.

Sufriadin, S. Widodo, I. Nur, A. Ilyas, and M. Y. Ashari, “Extraction of nickel and cobalt from sulawesi limonite ore in nitric acid solution at atmospheric pressure”, IOP Conference Series.: Material Science and. Engineering, vol. 875, p. 012053, 2020.

K. Liu, Q. Y. Chen, H. P. Hu, and Y. Yin, “Characterization and leaching behavior of lizardite in Yunjiang laterite ore”, Applied Clay Science, vol. 47, pp. 311-316, 2010.

Z. Zhou, B. Ma, C. Wang, Y. Chen, W. Zhang, and K. Huang, “Enrichment of scandium and aluminum from limonitic laterite during the nitric acid pressure leaching process”, Hydrometallurgy, vol. 208, 2022.

J. Li, Y. Yang, Y. Wen, W. Liu, Y. Chu, R. Wang, and Z. Xu, “Leaching kinetics and mechanism of laterite with NH4C‒HCl solution”, Minerals, vol.10, 2020.

S. Stanković, S. Stopić, M. Sokić, B. Marković, and B. Friedrich, “Review of the past, present, and future of the hydrometallurgical production of nickel and cobalt from lateritic ores”. Metallurgical and Material Engineering, vol.26, no. 2, pp. 199-208, 2020.

M. A. R. Onal, and Y. A.Topkaya, “Pressure acid leaching of Çaldağ lateritic nickel ore: An alternative to heap leaching”, Hydrometallurgy, vol.142, pp. 98-107, 2014.

J. Li, D. Xiong, H. Chen, R. Wang, and Y. Liang, “Physico-chemical factors affecting leaching of laterite ore in hydrochloric acid”, Hydrometallurgy, vol.129-130, pp.14-18, 2012.

B. Ma, W. Yang, B. Yang, C. Wang, Y. Chen, and Y. Zhang, “Pilot-scale plant study on the innovative nitric acid pressure leaching technology for laterite ores”, Hydrometallurgy, vol. 155, pp. 88-94, 2015.

M. Rao, J. Chen, T. Zhang, M. Hu, J. You, and J. Luo, “Atmospheric acid leaching of powdery Ni-Co-Fe alloy derived from reductive roasting of limonitic laterite ore and recovery of battery grade iron phosphate”, Hydrometallurgy, vol. 218, pp. 1-10, 2023.

I. M. Ugwu, and D. M. Sherman, “The solubility of goethite with structurally incorporated nickel and cobalt: Implication for laterites”, Chemical Geology, vol. 518, pp. 1-8, 2019.

Y. Changa, K. Zhao, and B. Pešić, “Selective leaching of nickel from pre-reduced limonitic laterite under moderate HPAL conditions- Part I: Dissolution”, Journal of Mining and Metallurgy, Section B. Metallurgy, vol.52, pp. 127-134, 2016.

A. Garces-Granda, G.T. Lapidus, and O.J. Restrepo-Baena, “Effect of a thermal pretreatment on dissolution kinetics of a limonitic laterite ore in chloride media”, Hydrometalurgy, vol. 196, p. 105428, 2020.

R.G. McDonald, and B.I. Whittington, “Atmospheric acid leaching of nickel laterites review. Part II. Chloride and bio-technologies”, Hydrometallurgy, vol. 91, pp. 56-69, 2008.

F. He, B. Ma, C. Wang, and Y. Chen, “Mineral evolution and porous kinetics of limonitic laterite during nitric acid pressure leaching”, Mineral Engineering, vol.181, p. 107544, 2022.

O. Levenspiel, “Chemical reaction engineering” 3rd ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, 668 p. 1999.

F. He, B. Ma, C. Wang, Y. Zuo, and Y. Chen, “Dissolution behavior and porous kinetics of limonitic laterite during nitric acid atmospheric leaching”, Mineral Engineering, vol.185, p. 107671, 2022.