Industrial requirements for nickel ore

Nickel is a silvery white metal, first isolated in 1751 by the Swedish mineralogist Cronstadt (AFCronstedt). Because of its good mechanical strength and ductility, refractory and high temperature resistance, high chemical stability, and no oxidation in the air, it is a very important non-ferrous metal material used in the manufacture of stainless steel. High-nickel alloy steel and alloy structural steel are widely used in various military manufacturing industries such as aircraft, radar, missiles, tanks, ships, spacecraft, and atomic reactors. In the civil industry, nickel is often used as a structural steel, acid-resistant steel, heat-resistant steel, etc. for a variety of machinery manufacturing. Nickel can also be used as a ceramic pigment and anti-corrosion coating. Nickel- cobalt alloy is a permanent magnet material widely used in electronic remote control, atomic energy industry and ultrasonic technology. In the chemical industry, nickel is often used as a hydrogenation catalyst. In recent years, the use of nickel in color television sets, tape recorders and other communication equipment is also rapidly increasing. In short, due to its excellent performance, nickel has become an indispensable metal for the development of modern aviation industry, national defense industry and the establishment of a modern system of human high-level material and cultural life.

First, the characteristics of nickel ore raw materials

Nickel-iron elements belonging to the parent, the content in the earth after the silicon, oxygen, iron, magnesium, 5 ranks. It has the highest nickel content in the core and is a natural nickel-iron alloy. Nickel mafic rocks in the crust than aluminum silicate rocks, for example, a nickel-containing peridotite 1000 times granite, gabbro containing nickel 80 times granite.

About 50 kinds of nickel-containing minerals are known, and the most important 10 kinds of nickel-containing minerals are listed in Table 3.10.1. Among them, sulfides, such as nickel pyrite, purple sulfur nickel iron ore, exist in the form of free nickel sulfide, and a considerable part of nickel is present in the pyrrhotite as a homogeneous substance. Among the nickel oxide ore, nickel laterite ore has high iron content, low content of silicon and magnesium, and nickel content of 1% to 2%; nickel silicate has low iron content, high content of silicon and magnesium, and nickel content of 1.6% to 4.0%. At present, the development and utilization of nickel oxide ore is mainly nickel laterite ore, which is developed from the weathering of ultrabasic rocks. Nickel is mainly in the form of nickel limonite (rarely crystallized to non-crystalline iron oxide).

Ni ^{2 +} has a strong sulfophilicity. In the early stage of magma crystallization, the degree of nickel enrichment in the rock depends on the fugacity of sulfur under the premise of a certain nickel content. When there is enough sulfur, nickel forms sulfur-containing sulfides with sulfur and sulfur-like substances ( arsenic and antimony ), which are separated before the silicate minerals crystallize to form nickel sulfur (or arsenic) (such as nickel ore, magnetic Pyrite, pentlandite, red arsenic nickel ore, arsenic nickel ore, nickel Hua). The so-called magnesium silicon nickel ore (ie, nickel silicate) is a general term for a series of mixtures of serpentine to clay- like water-like serpentine and saponite. Under oxidation conditions, part of the magnesium is replaced by nickel. . Nickel oxide, like nickel sulfide, is now an important source of nickel.

Second, the ore industry requirements

The ore of the nickel sulphide deposit is divided into: according to the vulcanization rate, that is, the ratio of nickel (SNi) to total nickel (TNi) in the sulphide state:

Primary ore: SNi/TNi>70%

Mixed ore: SNi/TNi 45% to 70%

Oxidized ore: SNi/TNi<45%

Nickel silicate ore is divided into magnesium oxide content:

Iron ore: MgO <10%

Ferrous magnesia ore: MgO 10% to 20%

Magnesium ore: MgO>20%

The main harmful impurities of nickel ore are copper (in nickel silicate), lead , zinc , arsenic, fluorine, manganese , antimony, bismuth , chromium and the like.

The nickel sulfide ore can be divided into the following three grades according to the nickel content, the rich ore: Ni>3%; the rich ore Ni 1%～3%; the lean ore: Ni 0.3%～1%. Rich ore and lean ore are subject to beneficiation , and special rich ore can be directly smelted into the furnace.

Nickel sulphide deposits generally contain copper, often referred to as copper-bearing nickel sulphide deposits. In nickel ore bodies, copper does not need to be separately defined and delineated. When the nickel grade does not reach the index and copper can form an ore body alone, the indicator is performed by copper. In addition to copper, typically frequently with iron, chromium, cobalt, manganese, platinum group metals, gold, silver, selenium and tellurium, the content of useful components associated these requirements are: Pt, Pd was 0.03g / t; Os, Ru, Rh, and Ir are 0.02 g/t; Au is 0.05 to 0.1 g/t, Ag is 1.0 g/t, Co is 0.01%; Se is 0.0005%; and Te is 0.0002%.

In the serpentine , talc and other deposits containing high nickel, often have recycling value, in the evaluation of this type of deposit should pay attention to the comprehensive evaluation of nickel.

Third, a brief history of mining

Ancient Egypt and China used iron and iron with high nickel content as artifacts. In the 206 BC (Han Dynasty), China had mastered the technology of smelting white copper (ie, copper-nickel-zinc alloy, containing 52%-80% of Cu, 5%-35% of Ni, and 10%-35% of Zn).

In 1865, Garnier of France first discovered nickel silicate in New Caledonia, and later he was named sillimanite. Mining began in 1875. Due to lack of local fuel and flux, and insufficient labor, the ore was sent to France and Germany for smelting. It is the world's first ore to smelt nickel with a blast furnace. In 1856, AP Salter found that the compass reading in the Sudbury area was skewed during the Canadian midday line. Subsequently, Murray was inspected nearby and sampled from the iron cap (the top of the Creston ore body). The ore containing Ni 1% and Cu 2% was found, but it was not noticed due to inconvenient traffic. It was not until 1883 that the work was carried out. In 1886, the Creston deposit was discovered, and the world-famous Sudbury super large copper was discovered. Nickel sulphide deposit, exposed to mining in 1901. Since then, the world's nickel smelting has shifted from nickel oxide to nickel sulfide.

China's nickel industry began in 1957 in the mining of Limahe nickel mine in Sichuan Province. Although the scale of production was small, it filled the gap in China's nickel industry, and at that time eased the "nickel shortage" in China. In 1958, the Gansu Provincial Geological Bureau discovered the Jinchuan (namely Baijiazuizi) nickel mine, which was put into operation in the 1960s, which solved the need for nickel in China to a large extent. In the 1990s, due to the development and commissioning of the Xinjiang Kalatongke Nickel Mine, the Yunnan Jinping Nickel Mine and the Jilin Yashisong Nickel Mine, the development of China's nickel industry has taken a new step.

The Derrick Crane from MC factory for hoisting and moving heavy objects , consisting of a movable boom equipped with cables and pulleysand connected to the base of an upright stationary beam .