LLC “Institute Gipronikel”, Saint Petersburg, Russia:

L. Sh. Tsemekhman, Adviser of Chief Executive Officer
L. B. Tsymbulov, Head of Laboratory of Metallurgy, e-mail: lbcym@mail.ru

This paper considers the current state of Russian enterprises, processing oxidized nickel ores. Analysis of development of the foreign-used technology for oxidized nickel ore processing by pyrometallurgical method is shown. The most prospective ways of development of pyrometallurgical processing of Russian ores are defined. From the economic and ecological points of view, converter-matte based technologies are unacceptable among all the considered methods. Ferronickel obtaining is the shorter scheme, making possible the high nickel extraction. It should be noted that the costs of metallic nickel and nickel, contained in rich ferronickel, are identical. Finery technology may not be used yet, because of the absence of the pilot testing results. Processing of ores with high content of cobalt causes a problem with the quality of obtained ferronickel. According to the existing requirements, the content of nickel in marketable ferronickel should not be lower than 15%, and the Ni:Co ratio should not be higher than 20. There are no economical methods of ferronickel refining from cobalt. Consumers may ask for the price lowering in case of high-cobalt ferronickel obtaining. Technology, rational for all enterprises, may be defined only after laboratory and laboratory-enlarged investigations with ores of appropriate deposits according by the methods such as: smelting in two-phase Vanyukov furnace; smelting in direct-current furnace; finery technology using. Multiple technical-economical calculation for the choice of optimal technology should be developed on the basis of the defined technological regulations.

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