Recovery of valuable metals from a low-grade nickel ore using an ammonium sulfate roasting-leaching process

Metal leaching from a low-grade nickel ore was investigated using an ammonium sulfate roasting-water leaching process. The nickel ore was mixed with ammonium sulfate, followed by roasting and finally leaching with water. During the process the effects of the amount of ammonium sulfate, roasting temperature, and roasting time on the leaching recovery of metal elements were analyzed. The optimum technological parameters were determined as follows: ammonium sulfate/ore ratio, 0.8 g/g; roasting temperature, 400°C; and roasting time, 2 h. Under the optimum condition the leaching recoveries of Ni, Cu, Fe, and Mg were 83.48%, 76.24%, 56.43%, and 62.15%, respectively. Furthermore, the dissolution kinetics of Ni and Mg from the nickel ore was studied. The apparent activation energies for the leaching reaction of Ni and Mg were 18.782 and 10.038 kJ·mol−1, which were consistent with the values of diffusion control reactions. Therefore, the results demonstrated that the leaching recoveries of Ni and Mg were controlled by diffusion.