Leaching characteristics of nickeliferous pyrrhotite tailings from the Sudbury,Ontario area

Mineralogical characterisation showed the deportment of Ni to be similar in the Vale and Glencore tailings, with 60% of the total Ni locked in pyrrhotite, and the balance 40% associated with pentlandite. Nickel leaching was correlated with the dissolution extents of pyrrhotite and pentlandite as functions of four leaching regimes: ‘anoxic acid’ (with and without pH control), ‘oxic acid’ (oxygen sparging), ‘oxic acid’ (air sparging), and ‘oxic ferric’ (air sparging). The results showed that the maximum Ni dissolution was obtained during the pH controlled oxic acid leach with oxygen sparging at pH 1.5, while the anoxic acid leach at pH 1.5 resulted in minimum Ni dissolution (10–15%) from pyrrhotite. An overall Ni mass balance showed that pyrrhotite and pentlandite dissolve simultaneously in the presence of Fe(III) and oxygen, in contrast to the preferential dissolution of pyrrhotite in the absence of Fe(III). Elemental sulphur yield increased with increasing temperature, but no observable trend could be linked to ferric or ferrous ion concentration.