Behavior of Iron Under Pressure Acid Leaching of Nickel Laterite Ores

Owing to the continual depletion of resources, low-grade nickel laterite ores are being treated nowadays to extract Ni. High-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) is a suitable process for treating nickel laterite ores. HPAL has the advantage of having a high extraction rate and low chemical consumption associated with the neutralization of iron; the low chemical consumption is owing to the formation of hematite precipitate in the residue. By studying the behavior of iron under pressure acid leaching, it was observed that sulfur and carbon contained in the ore decreased the redox potential and lead to Fe (II) dissolution. Iron concentration in the leached solution was decreased by oxygen rich leaching.