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New Strategies for Recovery of Nickel and Cobalt for a
Low Carbon Future
David Dreisinger
University of British Columbia
ABSTRACT: Nickel and cobalt are critical elements for the electric vehicle transition. New strategies are being
developed for recovering nickel and cobalt from sulphide and laterite resources to meet the expected future
demand. These include pressure oxidation of nickel sulphide concentrates to form battery chemical precursors,
the CO2 Mineralization and Selective Leaching (CMSL) process for limonite and saprolite treatment and the
ATLAS Materials process for low carbon nickel and cobalt from saprolite ores.
INTRODUCTION
The transition of the global transport sector to electric vehi-
cles is increasing the demand for a host of critical materials
including lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, graphite and
copper. The demand for all these materials will increase rap-
idly as the transition accelerates.
The recovery of nickel and cobalt from sulfide and lat-
erite ores has been practiced for many years. The traditional
process of sulfide ore processing includes mining, concen-
tration by flotation, smelting and refining to produce class
one nickel products. The processing of laterites requires
separate routes for the iron rich limonite and the magne-
sium rich saprolites. Iron rich limonite ores are typically
processed by high pressure acid leaching to recover nickel as
a mixed sulfide or mixed hydroxide precipitate for refining.
Magnesium rich saprolite ores are typically processed by
high temperature reduction processes to form iron-nickel
alloys (or nickel mattes). For example, the rotary kiln elec-
tric furnace (RKEF) process is widely practiced. The sap-
rolite ore is mined, milled, dried, calcined under reducing
conditions and then further reduced in an electric furnace
to form ferronickel (or nickel matte for refining).
The typical process routes are effective at recovering
nickel and cobalt from the natural ores. However, the pro-
cess intensity, waste generation and CO2 emissions from
the conventional processes are unfavourable. Table 1 shows
a comparison of process options to make products for
potential battery chemical manufacture.
Clearly the increasing demand for nickel and cobalt for
electrification of the global transport sector comes with a
heavy price to the environment. This has been brought into
sharp focus by the large-scale expansion of the nickel indus-
try in Indonesia. The waste and environmental legacy of
this rapid expansion is dramatic. The nickel industry must
find new ways to recover nickel and cobalt that avoid these
negative impacts.
In this paper, three processes are previewed as potential
routes to new supply of nickel and cobalt for battery manu-
facture. These include the concerted Mineral Carbonation
and Selective Leaching (cMCSL) process (Wang and
Dreisinger, 2023) for laterites, the Pressure Oxidation
(POX) of nickel sulfide concentrates (Dreisinger et al.,
2023) and the Atlas Materials process for laterite process-
ing (Dreisinger et al., 2023).
New Strategies for Recovery of Nickel and Cobalt for a
Low Carbon Future
David Dreisinger
University of British Columbia
ABSTRACT: Nickel and cobalt are critical elements for the electric vehicle transition. New strategies are being
developed for recovering nickel and cobalt from sulphide and laterite resources to meet the expected future
demand. These include pressure oxidation of nickel sulphide concentrates to form battery chemical precursors,
the CO2 Mineralization and Selective Leaching (CMSL) process for limonite and saprolite treatment and the
ATLAS Materials process for low carbon nickel and cobalt from saprolite ores.
INTRODUCTION
The transition of the global transport sector to electric vehi-
cles is increasing the demand for a host of critical materials
including lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, graphite and
copper. The demand for all these materials will increase rap-
idly as the transition accelerates.
The recovery of nickel and cobalt from sulfide and lat-
erite ores has been practiced for many years. The traditional
process of sulfide ore processing includes mining, concen-
tration by flotation, smelting and refining to produce class
one nickel products. The processing of laterites requires
separate routes for the iron rich limonite and the magne-
sium rich saprolites. Iron rich limonite ores are typically
processed by high pressure acid leaching to recover nickel as
a mixed sulfide or mixed hydroxide precipitate for refining.
Magnesium rich saprolite ores are typically processed by
high temperature reduction processes to form iron-nickel
alloys (or nickel mattes). For example, the rotary kiln elec-
tric furnace (RKEF) process is widely practiced. The sap-
rolite ore is mined, milled, dried, calcined under reducing
conditions and then further reduced in an electric furnace
to form ferronickel (or nickel matte for refining).
The typical process routes are effective at recovering
nickel and cobalt from the natural ores. However, the pro-
cess intensity, waste generation and CO2 emissions from
the conventional processes are unfavourable. Table 1 shows
a comparison of process options to make products for
potential battery chemical manufacture.
Clearly the increasing demand for nickel and cobalt for
electrification of the global transport sector comes with a
heavy price to the environment. This has been brought into
sharp focus by the large-scale expansion of the nickel indus-
try in Indonesia. The waste and environmental legacy of
this rapid expansion is dramatic. The nickel industry must
find new ways to recover nickel and cobalt that avoid these
negative impacts.
In this paper, three processes are previewed as potential
routes to new supply of nickel and cobalt for battery manu-
facture. These include the concerted Mineral Carbonation
and Selective Leaching (cMCSL) process (Wang and
Dreisinger, 2023) for laterites, the Pressure Oxidation
(POX) of nickel sulfide concentrates (Dreisinger et al.,
2023) and the Atlas Materials process for laterite process-
ing (Dreisinger et al., 2023).