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(12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 6,569,224 B2 Kerfoot Et Al

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(12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 6,569,224 B2 Kerfoot Et Al USOO6569224B2 (12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 6,569,224 B2 Kerfoot et al. (45) Date of Patent: *May 27, 2003 (54) HYDROMETALLURGICAL PROCESS FOR (51) Int. Cl." ................................................ C22B 15/00 THE RECOVERY OF NICKEL AND COBALT (52) U.S. Cl. ............................. 75/743; 423/27; 423/28; VALUES FROMA SULFDC FLOTATION 423/150.1 CONCENTRATE (58) Field of Search ......................... 75/743; 423/150.1, (75) Inventors: Derek George Eagland Kerfoot, 423/27, 28 Oakville (CA); Eberhard Krause, (56) References Cited Campbellville (CA); Bruce John Love, Georgetown (CA); Avinash Singhal, U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS Mississauga (CA) 6,428,604 B1 8/2002 Kerfoot et al. ............... 75/743 (73) Assignee: Inco Limited, Toronto (CA) * cited by examiner (*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this Primary Examiner Roy King patent is extended or adjusted under 35 ASSistant Examiner Andrew Wessman U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days. (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Edward A. Steen This patent is Subject to a terminal dis (57) ABSTRACT claimer. A hydrometallurgical process for the recovery of nickel and cobalt values from a Sulfidic flotation concentrate. The (21) Appl. No.: 10/175,023 process involves forming a slurry of the Sulfidic flotation concentrate in an acid Solution, and Subjecting the slurried (22) Filed: Jun. 19, 2002 flotation concentrate to a chlorine leach at atmospheric (65) Prior Publication Data preSSure followed by an oxidative pressure leach. After liquid-Solids Separation and purification of the concentrate US 2003/0033906 A1 Feb. 20, 2003 resulting in the removal of copper and cobalt, the nickel containing Solution is directly treated by electrowinning to Related U.S. Application Data recover nickel cathode therefrom. (63) Continuation of application No. 09/664,475, filed on Sep. 18, 2000, now Pat. No. 6,428,604. 1 Claim, 3 Drawing Sheets U.S. Patent May 27, 2003 Sheet 1 of 3 US 6,569,224 B2 Fig. 1 10 Ni-Co Concentrate - > ATMOSPHERIC Cl, LEACH Oxygen w w PRESSURE LEACH LIGRUD/SOLID Leach SEPARATION Re NiSOLUTION - - S. PURIFICATION n, NICKEL H-Ho- Solution E. ELECTROWNNING nano Bleed Nickel Cathode U.S. Patent May 27, 2003 Sheet 2 of 3 US 6,569,224 B2 Fig. 2 Ni-Co Concentrate FNE GRIND 12 w - 14 ATMOSPHERIC ACID CLEACH 30 Oxygen 41 OxIDATIVE PRESSURE LEACH Leach Residue COPPER T Copper REMOVAL By-Product Limestone 22 Lime Iron-Gypsum Cake w 24 SOLUTION --> Waste PURIFICATION Solution 26 w COBALT --> Cobalt 32 REMOVA Product w 28 M 34 NICKEL -O Solution Oxygen + ELECTROWINNING A. Anolyte Bleed Chlorine w 30 Nickel Cathode U.S. Patent May 27, 2003 Sheet 3 of 3 US 6,569,224 B2 Fig. 3 9. 40 9 E C 3 30 1 / g f f 8 f/ if D / 5 20 . h ()5 * , ff Direct OPL of Ni-Cu-Co Concentrate ?o - - - - - OPL of Test 4 Atm. Leach Residue 10 - - - OPL of Test 5 Atm. Leach Residue O 5 10 15 20 25 30 Time, minutes US 6,569,224 B2 1 2 HYDROMETALLURGICAL PROCESS FOR at a loSS, or converted to a Solid waste Such as gypsum for THE RECOVERY OF NICKEL AND COBALT landfill disposal. VALUES FROMA SULFDC FLOTATION There have been numerous attempts to extend this oxi CONCENTRATE dative acid pressure leaching technology to the direct treat ment of copper and nickel-copper Sulfide flotation CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED concentrates, but no Such process has as yet been Success APPLICATION fully commercialized. A major obstacle to the application of oxidative pressure leaching at temperatures above the melt This application is a continuation of U.S. patent applica ing point of Sulfur, to the treatment of chalcopyrite tion Ser. No. 09/664,475 filed Sep. 18, 2000 now U.S. Pat. containing flotation concentrates, has been the tendency of No. 6,428,604. molten Sulfur to coat the Surface of the metal Sulfide par ticles. This inhibits and prevents the reaction of the metal FIELD OF THE INVENTION Sulfide with the acid Solution. Consequently, the oxidative The present invention relates to a hydrometallurgical preSSure leaching of copper concentrates in Sulfuric acid at proceSS for the Separation, extraction and recovery of nickel 15 temperatures above 120° C. typically results in slow reaction and cobalt values from a sulfidic flotation concentrate. More rates and low metal eXtractions. Zinc and nickel Sulfide Specifically, the process involves an atmospheric pressure particles have a weaker affinity for molten sulfur than do chlorine leach conducted under acidic conditions, followed copper Sulfides, and the Successful Zinc oxidative preSSure by an oxidative acid preSSure leach, and recovery of nickel leach proceSS described above utilizes organic additives, by an electrowinning Step. Such as lignoSulfonate Salts or quebracho, to prevent the coating of the Sulfide particles during the leaching process. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION These additives are ineffective for copper sulfide concentrates, but recently, (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,776 to Metallurgists have long Sought to develop economically Collins et al.), the addition of low grade coals has been viable hydrometallurgical processes for the recovery of base 25 found to prevent the coating of both Zinc and copper Sulfides metals from Sulfidic flotation concentrates, as an alternative in oxidative pressure leaching in Sulfuric acid Solution at to the conventional Smelting and refining processes. Smelt 150° C. erS have become increasingly costly to build and to operate A different approach to overcoming the problem of the as a result of more Stringent environmental emission con occlusion of the Sulfide particle Surfaces by molten Sulfur is trols. Many of the processes Studied over the past fifty years described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,406 to Stanley et al. This have utilized the leaching of an aqueous Slurry of the Sulfidic patent discloses the addition of low concentrations of chlo flotation concentrate in an air or oxygen atmosphere in a ride ion to the leach Solution in the oxidative preSSure preSSure autoclave, to achieve the primary Separation of the leaching of a chalcopyrite concentrate in Sulfuric acid Solu metal values from the iron, Sulfur and gangue components of tion at temperatures above 120° C. The benefits of the the concentrate. Few of these processes have achieved 35 chloride addition were shown to be greatly increased rates of commercial Success. leaching of chalcopyrite and a major reduction in the amount A hydrometallurgical proceSS based on the pressure leach of Sulfide oxidized to Sulfate, and as a result, the recovery of ing of nickel-copper Sulfide flotation concentrates in ammo Virtually all the iron content of the concentrate as hematite niacal ammonium Sulfate Solution in an atmosphere of air at in the Solid residue. In the absence of the chloride ion 95 C., was commercialized by Sherritt Gordon Mines 40 addition, oxidative pressure leaching of chalcopyrite in Limited in Canada in the early 1950s. (J. R. Boldt, Jr. and P. sulfuric acid at 150° C. typically produces a leach solution E. Queneau, The Winning of Nickel, Longmans Canada containing high levels of acid and dissolved iron. With the Limited, Toronto, 1967, pp. 299-314), and was operated chloride addition, the leach Solution typically has a pH value Successfully for forty years. Due to its relatively high energy of 2.5 to 3, and the iron concentration is less than 1 g/L. A consumption, and the necessity for providing a market for 45 further consequence of the low degree of Sulfur oxidation, the ammonium Sulfate fertilizer by-product, this proceSS has and the resulting low level of acidity in the chloride con not been widely adopted by other nickel producers because taining leach Solution, is that a large portion of the leached it was particularly adapted to the general location and copper can be reprecipitated as basic copper Sulfate. The available feedstocks of the Sherritt Gordon plant. extent of this effect can be varied by adjusting the amount of A Sulfuric acid based pressure leaching process for the 50 acid added to the leach. This ability to control the deport treatment of Zinc Sulfide flotation concentrates has also been ment of the copper between Solution and leach residue in Successful commercial operation Since 1981 and has provides considerable flexibility in the design of the copper Subsequently been adopted by Several Zinc producers to recovery process. replace the conventional roasting technology. In this The applicability of oxidative pressure leaching with a process, the Zinc Sulfide flotation concentrate is oxidatively 55 chloride ion addition to a Sulfate Solution in the preSSure pressure leached in a sulfuric acid solution at 150° C., to leaching of nickel-containing Sulfide flotation concentrates produce a Solution of Zinc Sulfate, and a residue consisting was Subsequently described in a paper entitled "Oxygen of elemental Sulfur and iron oxide. The Zinc sulfate Solution Pressure Leaching of Fe-Ni-Cu Sulfide Concentrates at is purified to remove trace impurity metals, and Zinc metal 110 C-Effect of Low Chloride Addition” Subramanian et is recovered from the purified leach Solution by the long 60 al. (Hydrometallurgy 2, (1976), pp. 117-125). established electrowinning process. Typically less than 10% More recently, D. L. Jones in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,431,788; of the Sulfide in the concentrate is oxidized to Sulfate in the 5,645,708; 5,650,057; 5,855,858; 5,874,055; and 5,902,474 preSSure leach, with the balance being recovered as elemen discloses the combination of the chloride-assisted Sulfuric tal Sulfur in Solid form, for Sale or Storage. The deportment acid oxidative preSSure leaching of copper Sulfide concen of the Sulfur in this proceSS gives it a major advantage over 65 trates with the recovery of copper by a variety of process the older roasting process, in which the Sulfur is all con flowsheets based on conventional Solvent extraction and verted to Sulfuric acid, which must frequently be marketed electrowinning.
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