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Alchemy Resources has announced excellent recovery results from metallurgical test work completed by Direct Nickel. A nitric acid leach was used with the DNi process to return an average of 87.1 per cent nickel and 86.9 percent cobalt.
The DNi process uses nitric acid to dissolve and recover any saleable metals found in lateritic ores, tailings and waste. It was originally developed to produce products in the steel industry however the versatile chemistry gives it multiple uses.
It can produce products suited for refining the battery market and other products such as haematite for steel and pigments and magnesium oxide which can be used for medical purposes.
This is a flexible process which can adapt to changing market demands and can produce nickel metal or battery precursors and extract any metal that will dissolve in nitric acid.
It is also an environmentally process as it produces half the tailings footprint and any unused leach residue is able to be dry stacked and returned to the mine. This process is also the only one to produce magnesium oxide without creating carbon dioxide.
The nitric acid tests were conducted at 110 degrees Celsius, under atmospheric pressure and over a period of six hours.
Simulus Laboratories have commenced hydrochloric acid leach test work on kaolinite samples which were collected above the Nickel-Copper resource with results expected in Q3 2019.
