High-pyrrhotite tailings are highly reactive and can easily oxidize and produce acidity and/or metal-laden drainage under some disposal conditions, while at the same time this material may contain significant metal values. CanmetMINING is currently developing a stirred-tank bioleaching process to recover nickel and cobalt (both critical for electric vehicle batteries) from pyrrhotite-rich tailings. This manuscript reports on the process development with one sample from the Sudbury region, which includes: mineralogical and chemical characterization; magnetic separation; comparison of abiotic, biotic, and anoxic leaching to identify different dissolution mechanisms; and a comprehensive stirred-tank bioleaching study to determine the effect of pH (1.6 to 3) and temperature (30 to 50 °C) on the dissolution of nickel and cobalt. The sample was determined to contain 0.59% nickel and 0.017% cobalt, primarily in pyrrhotite and pentlandite (~ 51 and ~ 1 wt% respectively). Following magnetic separation, the magnetic fraction contained approximately 50% higher nickel content compared to that of the non-magnetic fraction; enrichment was limited by the fact the residual non-magnetic pentlandite was essentially split between the two fractions. Stirred-tank bioleaching experiments resulted in 80 to 90% and 70 to 80% leaching of nickel and cobalt respectively in 10 days at T ≥ 40 °C; suggesting a very robust process. A novel bioleaching process at elevated pH (~ 3) that incorporates iron removal in the bioleaching circuit has been discussed; there are significant potential capital and operation cost savings.

高磁黄铁矿尾矿具有高反应性，在某些处置条件下很容易氧化并产生酸性和/或富含金属的排水，同时这种材料可能含有重要的金属价值。CanmetMINING 目前正在开发一种搅拌槽生物浸出工艺，以从富含磁黄铁矿的尾矿中回收镍和钴（这两者对电动汽车电池至关重要）。这份手稿用来自萨德伯里地区的一个样品报告了工艺开发，其中包括：矿物学和化学表征；磁选; 比较非生物、生物和缺氧浸出以确定不同的溶解机制；以及全面的搅拌槽生物浸出研究，以确定 pH（1.6 至 3）和温度（30 至 50 °C）对镍和钴溶解的影响。样品经测定含有 0.59% 的镍和 0.017% 的钴，主要是磁黄铁矿和镍黄铁矿（分别为~51% 和~1 wt%）。磁性分离后，磁性部分的镍含量比非磁性部分高约 50%；残留的非磁性镍黄铁矿基本上在两个部分之间分裂，因此富集受到限制。搅拌槽生物浸出实验在 10 天内分别使镍和钴浸出 80% 至 90% 和 70% 至 80% 残留的非磁性镍黄铁矿基本上在两个部分之间分裂，因此富集受到限制。搅拌槽生物浸出实验在 10 天内分别使镍和钴浸出 80% 至 90% 和 70% 至 80% 残留的非磁性镍黄铁矿基本上在两个部分之间分裂，因此富集受到限制。搅拌槽生物浸出实验在 10 天内分别使镍和钴浸出 80% 至 90% 和 70% 至 80%Ť  ≥40℃; 表明一个非常稳健的过程。已经讨论了在高 pH (~ 3) 下将铁去除纳入生物浸出回路的新型生物浸出工艺；有显着的资本和运营成本节约潜力。