Leaching of low grade nickel laterite ore from Waterval mine in Mpumalanga through electrochemical process

M. Tech. Chemical EngineeringThe depreciation of high grade sulphide ores has resulted to the use of low grade laterites to meet the global nickel demand. Available low grade laterite ore reserves in South Africa are underutilised. Suitable metallurgical process for recovery of nickel from these reserves is not yet implemented because the mineralogy is not well understood. Hence, in this research the mineralogy and recovery of nickel from low grade laterites was studied through electrochemical process. The research shows that it is feasible to selectively recover nickel from the low grade laterite ore using electrochemical leaching method. It is recommended that optimization of the electrochemical cell design be looked into to evaluate the possibility of scaling up for industry application