Awaruite, a new large nickel resource. Part 1: Physicochemical properties and their implication for mineral processing

Seiler, Santiago; Sánchez, G.; Bradshaw, Peter; Klein, Bern

doi:10.1016/j.mineng.2022.107754

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The automated mineralogical analysis showed that 80% of the awaruite mineral grains are smaller than 27 µm and 50% are smaller than 9 µm. This particle size measurement is a rough estimation due to the elongated shape factor generally observed in awaruite samples [6]. For the deslimed sample, the measured particle size distribution showed that 50% of the awaruite is smaller than 49 µm, and 80% is smaller than 90 µm.…”

Section: Materials Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Normalized distribution of mineral composition for the whole and deslimed samples, as obtained from QEMSCAN, is shown in Table 2. A more detailed mineralogical characterization of the material, including x-ray diffraction and chemical composition, is presented in a separate work of the same authors, carried out in a representative subsample [6]. In terms of particle size distribution, the P 80 of the feed sample is 82 µm and has a considerable portion of fines; in all, 34 wt.% of the sample is below 20 µm.…”

Section: Materials Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The difference in the particle size distribution between the whole and deslimed sample is an indication that in the desliming process, awaruite is lost as fine to ultrafine particles (<10 µm). A more detailed mineralogical characterization of the sample is available in another article published by the same authors [6].…”

Section: Materials Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Awaruite (Ni 3 Fe) is an intermetallic compound of nickel and iron [5]. It has high density (8.6 g/cm 3 ) and magnetic susceptibility (χ = 14.4) [6]. In the Baptiste deposit, awaruite has an average composition of 77.3% nickel, 21.0% iron, 1.1% cobalt, and 0.6% copper [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has high density (8.6 g/cm 3 ) and magnetic susceptibility (χ = 14.4) [6]. In the Baptiste deposit, awaruite has an average composition of 77.3% nickel, 21.0% iron, 1.1% cobalt, and 0.6% copper [6]. Occurrences of awaruite have been mainly related to serpentinized ultramafic rocks, which is the case for the Baptiste deposit [7,8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Awaruite, a New Large Nickel Resource: Flotation under Weakly Acidic Conditions

Seiler,

Sánchez,

Pawlik

et al. 2023

Minerals

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To support the transformation to clean low carbon technologies, there is a demand for critical metals such as nickel. Awaruite is a less common nickel-bearing mineral with unique properties and responses to mineral separation. This paper presents the findings of a flotation study to recover awaruite from the Baptiste ultramafic deposit, located in central British Columbia, Canada. Nickel recoveries of up to 65% at the rougher stage were obtained with xanthate as a collector at a pH level of 4.5. Awaruite flotation was shown to be highly dependent on the slurry pH. At weakly acidic conditions, the awaruite surface is activated through the dissolution of the passivation layer formed during grinding in alkaline conditions. Desliming was shown to reduce the acid consumption required to maintain the pH, probably by removing the highly reactive serpentine slimes generated during grinding. Rougher, followed by cleaner stages of flotation, showed that a high-grade concentrate can be produced with up to 45% nickel, 1.3% cobalt, 0.7% copper and negligible concentrations of penalty elements, such as arsenic, lead, and selenium, among others. A nickel flotation concentrate from an awaruite deposit is a promising feedstock for not only stainless-steel production but also for clean energy technologies.

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Section: Materials Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Materials Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Materials Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%