Abstract

The mineralogical characterization and occurrence of target elements in limonitic laterite from Africa was comprehensively studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy energy spectrum (SEM–EDS), and optical microscope (OM) measurements. The results suggest that laterite ore has a complex internal structure. In the limonitic laterite, the contents of Ni, Co, and Fe are 1.14%, 0.16%, and 45.91%, respectively. The limonitic laterite mainly contains 72.2% iron oxide/oxyhydroxide, 9.37% silicate, 6.22% chlorite. Limonite, chlorite, and manganese oxide are the main nickel carrier with distribution rates of 60.98%, 22.65%, and 13.94%, respectively. Cobalt is hosted in manganese oxides and iron oxides, respectively. Additionally, Au, Pt, Pd, and Ag are also detected in the limonitic laterite. Gold, platinum, and silver are mainly found in their native metals. Palladium is mainly dispersed in the iron minerals. Furthermore, the route of rotary kiln-electric furnace (RKEF) was selected to this limonitic laterite; the results demonstrate that comprehensive recovery efficiency of Ni, Co, Fe is high with recovery rate of 98.72%, 98.38%, 54.89%, respectively. Notably, the majority of noble metals such as Au, Pt, Pd are enriched in crude ferronickel.

Graphical Abstract

中文翻译：

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非洲褐铁红土的矿物学特征及其加工路线

摘要

通过X射线衍射（XRD），扫描电子显微镜能谱（SEM–EDS）和光学显微镜（OM）测量，对来自非洲的红木红土的矿物学特征和目标元素的存在进行了全面研究。结果表明，红土矿具有复杂的内部结构。在褐铁矿红土中，Ni，Co和Fe的含量分别为1.14％，0.16％和45.91％。氧化亚铁红土主要包含72.2％的氧化铁/羟基氧化物，9.37％的硅酸盐，6.22％的亚氯酸盐。褐铁矿，绿泥石和氧化锰是主要的镍载体，分布率分别为60.98％，22.65％和13.94％。钴分别存在于氧化锰和氧化铁中。此外，在褐铁质红土中也检测到了Au，Pt，Pd和Ag。黄金，铂金，和银主要存在于其天然金属中。钯金主要分散在铁矿物质中。此外，选择了回转窑-电炉（RKEF）的路线至该褐铁矿红土。结果表明，镍，钴，铁的综合回收率较高，回收率分别为98.72％，98.38％，54.89％。值得注意的是，大多数贵金属（例如Au，Pt，Pd）富含粗镍铁。

图形概要