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Selection of optimum ferronickel grade for smelting nickel laterites

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 Paper 6 Metallurgy

Selection of optimum ferronickel grade

for smelting nickel laterites
M.Y. Solar, independent consultant, Oakville, Ontario,
I. Candy and B. Wasmund, Hatch, Mississauga, Ontario

ABSTRACT The nickel laterite industry is divided into two camps when it comes to the grade of the
ferronickels produced. One group, led by Falcondo and Cerro Matoso, markets high-grade ferro-
nickels in the range of 35 to 40% nickel, while another group, led by SLN and the Japanese smelters,
favour lower grades in the range of 20 to 25%. Because the ores processed by these smelters vary
widely in terms of nickel content and iron to nickel ratios, it is probably more accurate to classify
these smelters in terms of their iron recovery: Falcondo and Cerro Matoso smelt at lower reduction
potentials and thus recover only 15 to 30% of the iron in their ores, while SLN and the Japanese
smelters are very reducing and recover 45 to 65% of their iron. Low reductions generally imply
higher slag losses and lower nickel recoveries, but also lower power and reductant requirements;
higher reductions, the reverse. The question is, therefore, whether an economically optimum fer-
ronickel grade exists for processing any given ore. This paper proposes a methodology for deter-
mining this optimum grade and concludes that nickel laterite smelters should favour low reductions
and production of high-grade ferronickels.

KEYWORDS Laterite smelting, Ferronickel, Optimum grade

INTRODUCTION

Not since the mid-1970s has the nickel laterite into two camps when it comes to the grade of the fer-
industry seen such a large number of potential smelt- ronickels produced. One group, led by Falcondo and
ing projects: Barro Alto and Onça-Puma in Brazil, Cerro Matoso, markets high-grade ferronickels in the
FENIX in Guatemala, Bahodopi and Halmahera in range of 35 to 40% nickel, while another group, led
Indonesia, Shevchenko in Kazakhstan, SNNC in by SLN and the Japanese smelters, favour lower
Korea, Tagaung Taung in Myanmar and Koniambo in grades in the range of 20 to 25%. Table 1 details
New Caledonia are just a few examples. The ores to some of the pros and cons of the two approaches.
be treated vary widely in terms of nickel content, iron Table 2 provides information about the ten lead-
to nickel ratio and acidity (measured by the silica to ing electric furnace laterite smelters in the world. The
magnesia ratio). data provided has been updated using surveys by
The ferronickel grade selected for these projects is Warner, Diaz, Dalvi, Mackey, and Tarasov (2006) and
often based on perceived market preferences. But the by Bergman (2003). In addition, some data comes
current nickel laterite smelters can actually be divided from Hatch databases.
Note that the most important factor in
Table 1. Laterite smelter classification classifying any smelter into one of the two
Category Low Fe Reduction High Fe Reduction categories of Table 1 is the amount of iron
(generally high-grade FeNi) (generally low-grade FeNi) reduction performed, as measured by the
Typical ferronickel grade, % Ni up to 40 20 - 25 recovery of iron to the metallic (or matte)
Iron recovery to metal, % 15 - 30 45 - 65 phase. For example, Loma de Niquel pro-
Leading practitioners Falcondo SLN duces ferronickel at about 22.5% nickel,
Cerro Matoso Pamco but its ore is ~1.5% nickel at a Fe/Ni ratio of
(PT Inco) Hyuga 11.5. Loma thus reduces only ~27% of its
Remarks Lower Ni recoveries (~90%) Higher Ni recoveries (~95%)
Lower Fe credits (if any) Higher Fe credits (if any)
iron into the ferronickel and falls into the
Lower power requirements Higher power requirements category of low iron reduction, even
Lower reductant requirements Higher reductant requirements
Smaller furnace off-gas volumes Larger furnace off-gas volumes though its ferronickel grade is in the range
Lower refining costs Higher refining costs typical of SLN and the Japanese smelters.
Lower transportation costs Higher transportation costs
Higher throughputs Lower throughputs Another more extreme example is Larco,
No C boil or Si reversion problems Potential C boil and Si reversion problems which produces crude ferronickel at 12%
Lower superheat in metal Higher superheat in metal
nickel (later upgraded to 18 to 20% in a

1 CIM Bulletin ■ Vol. 101, N° 1107

 Metallurgy

Table 2. Smelting of saprolite ores — furnace metallurgy for leading smelters (in order of reduction)
Category Low Fe Reduction High Fe Reduction
Smelter Falcondo Codemin PT Inco Larco CMSA Loma de Hyuga SLN PT Antam Pamco
Niquel
Ore
%Ni 1.38 1.44 1.85 1.03 2.20 1.48 2.30 2.70 2.20 2.30
%Co 0.040 0.040 0.060 0.055 0.085 0.100 0.060 0.050 0.080
%Fe 14.5 16.9 20.0 30.2 15.3 17.0 17.0 13.0 13.4 14.0
Fe/Ni 10.5 11.7 10.8 29.4 7.0 11.5 7.4 4.8 6.1 6.1
SiO2/MgO 1.6 1.6 2.0 7.4 2.8 1.3 1.6 1.75 1.6 1.6
Ferronickel (before refining)
%Ni 38.5 28.0 26.0 12.3 35.0 22.5 21.0 25.0 19.2 18.5
%Co 0.92 0.56 0.60 0.55 0.77 0.45 0.66 0.50 0.30 0.50
%Fe 60.3 71.0 63.5 86.8 63.7 76.0 72.5 69.7 72.5 75.5
%S 0.26 0.30 9.5 0.30 0.25 0.32 0.38 0.23 0.195 0.30
%C Traces 0.20 0.020 0.26 1.55 1.55 2.40 2.14
%Cr Traces 0.06 0.49 1.73 1.44
%Si Traces 0.020 0.15 0.65 2.00 2.38 1.63
Total% 100.0 99.9 99.6 100.1 99.7 99.7 97.2 99.0 98.7 100.0
Slag
%Ni 0.15 0.13 0.15 0.12 0.20 0.11 0.10 0.14 0.09 0.07
%Co 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.02
%Fe 13.9 14.9 18.4 28.5 14.7 11.8 8.5 5.7 4.6 5.0
Partition coefficients
Ni 257 215 173 103 175 205 210 185 213 264
Co 90 27 20 22 26 23 23 25 25 25
Fe 4.3 4.8 3.5 3.0 4.3 6.4 8.5 12.2 15.8 15.1
Ferronickel/ 0.036 0.052 0.077 0.091 0.074 0.058 0.094 0.100 0.092 0.123
slag weight ratio
Metal distributions 1
Ni to metal (%) 90.2 91.8 93.0 90.3 92.8 92.2 95.2 94.9 95.1 97.0
Co to metal (%) 76.3 58.7 60.6 67.0 65.6 56.9 68.8 71.1 69.8 75.4
Fe to metal (%) 13.4 19.8 21.0 21.7 24.3 27.1 44.5 54.9 59.1 65.0
Overall smelter 91.2 87.5 90.0 82.0 93.8 97.5 96.0 97.0
nickel recovery 2
Notes:
1. Metal distributions between ferronickel and slag are calculated by mass balances based on ore, metal and slag assays quoted in Warner et al. (2006).
2. Overall smelter nickel recoveries are as quoted in Warner et al. (2006).

converter). But its ore is ~1.0% nickel at a Fe/Ni ratio Table 1 hints at the factors that may influence
of 29. Larco thus recovers only about 22% of its iron this decision. High reductions will increase nickel and
in the crude ferronickel and also falls into the low iron iron yields from a fixed amount of ore (thus increas-
reduction category. ing revenues), but this increase will come at the cost
Figure 1 further illustrates this point. As seen, the of extra power and reductant, and will require higher
leading laterite smelters are clearly separated into two expenditures for smelting capacity, refining and trans-
camps: six smelters favour lower iron recoveries and portation of the final product. However, most laterite
four prefer higher reductions. Could both groups be smelters are furnace limited. Because power require-
correct or is there an economically optimum reduc- ments increase as the reduction potential in the sys-
tion and thus ferronickel grade for a given ore? tem is increased, the increase in recovery can be more
than offset by a greater decrease in throughput.
50% Therefore, an economic optimum indeed exists that
can be calculated by developing the necessary mass
and energy balances, as well as differential cost esti-
% Ni in furnace metal/matte

40%
Falcondo CMSA

30%
mates.
Codemin SLN
PT Inco Hyuga

20% LdN CRITICAL OPERATING PARAMETERS

Antam Pamco

Larco
10%
Changing the reduction (oxygen) potential in a
0%
laterite smelter has operational consequences that
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
must be quantified if the mass balances necessary to
Recovery of Fe to metal/matte
Calculated relationships for ores at: perform the optimum grade calculations are to be
2.4% Ni, Fe/Ni = 5 2 .0% Ni, Fe/Ni = 10 1% Ni, Fe/Ni = 30
developed with sufficient accuracy. In particular,
Fig. 1. Correlation between furnace grades and recovery of iron to furnace
because increasing the ferronickel grade implies low-
product. ering the reduction potential:

March/April 2008 2
Metallurgy

• The nickel partition coefficient should be varied REQUIRED CO/CO2 RATIO

accordingly.
• The CO/CO2 ratio in the furnace reaction gases
should be varied accordingly.
• Impurities such as carbon, chromium and silicon
will decrease significantly.
A detailed discussion of these relationships is
beyond the scope of this paper. Therefore, the fol-
lowing sections simply state the relationships used for
the purpose at hand.
EFFECT OF GRADE SELECTION ON THE NICKEL
PARTITION COEFFICIENT
The equilibrium between nickel in metal and
nickel in slag can be considered a result of the reac-
tion:
(NiO) + [Fe] = [Ni] + (FeO)
where the brackets refer to the metal and the paren-
theses to the slag. It can thus be shown that the
nickel partition coefficient, PCNi defined as
[%Ni]/(%Ni), is an inverse function of the FeO content
of the slag. Figure 2 illustrates the decreasing trend
for the Ni partition coefficient at higher %FeO in slag
for the first nine smelters quoted in Table 2. The Larco
data point was left out for this correlation due to the
extreme Fe/Ni ratio of its ore.
300
250
Ni partition coefficient
Because a significant amount of the ferrous iron
in laterite ores is reduced to ferric in the pre-reduction
unit (usually a kiln, but shaft furnaces in the case of
Falcondo), the controlling reduction reaction in the
furnace is:
FeO + CO = Fe + CO2 (2)
The gases generated by this reaction (and others)
percolate through the charge banks and enter the
freeboard of the furnace, where they combust with
air inleakage. For Cerro Matoso and PT Inco, these
reaction gases are known to the authors as having
CO/CO2 ratios of around 4 to 5 before combustion
with air inleakage and have been correlated to the
partition coefficient of iron by the following equation:
(1)
CO/CO2 in EF reaction gases = 1.15 x PCFe (3)
In the absence of other data, the preceding
equation was assumed to be applicable to other fur-
naces as well.
CARBON, CHROMIUM AND SILICON LEVELS IN
FERRONICKEL
Finally, it is essential to predict the concentrations
of carbon, chromium and silicon in the crude ferro-
nickel because these impurities have major influences
on the type of refining required to prepare the final
product for market. The conventional approach has
been to correlate the concentrations of these impuri-
ties to the FeO content of the slag (e.g. Skretting,

200 2002). However, the authors have found that better

150
correlations can be obtained if plotted against iron
Correlation recovery to crude ferronickel. These correlations are
100 PCNi= -1.75 (%FeO) + 235 illustrated in Figure 3.
50

MASS AND HEAT BALANCES

0
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

% FeO in slag The example discussed in this paper was devel-

oped for a medium size smelter anchored by a fur-
Fig. 2. Correlation between nickel partition coefficient and FeO in slag.
nace capable of routinely averaging 45 MW. Its ore

Table 3. Typical high-grade saprolite composition

10
Parameter Weight %
Ni 2.4 1
% C or Cr or Si in crude FeNi

%C or Cr or Si 2.0
Co 0.04
Fe 11.7 0.1

SiO2 40.6
MgO 19.3 0.01

CaO 0.30
log (%C or Cr or Si) = -3.3 + 0.075 x % of Fe recovered to metal
Al2O3 2.0 0.001

Cr2O3 1.0
0.0001
Others 7.0 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

LOI 10.0 Recovery of iron to metal

Carbon Chromium Silicon

SiO2/MgO 2.1
Fe/Ni 4.9
Free moisture 30.0 Fig. 3. Correlation between carbon, chromium and silicon concentrations
and recovery of iron to metal.

3 CIM Bulletin ■ Vol. 101, N° 1107

 Metallurgy

composition is shown in Table 3. Except for the expressed both in terms of gross kWh per dry tonne
SiO2/MgO ratio, the composition is typical of a high- of ore or of calcine and net kWh per tonne of calcine
grade Indonesian or New Caledonian saprolite. (gross and net denote whether furnace heat losses
Mass and heat balances were derived, using are included or excluded). As expected, the net power
METSIM, for nine different crude ferronickel grades requirements decrease as the selected ferronickel
between 16 and 40% nickel. These calculations high- grade increases, from more than 500 kWh per tonne
lighted major trends that eventually dominated the of calcine at the lower grades to ~470 kWh/t at the
selection of the economically optimum ferronickel highest.
grade.
REFINING
IMPACT OF FERRONICKEL GRADE SELECTION ON
NICKEL RECOVERY AND PRODUCTION In a new smelter, refining would typically be
based on ladle metallurgy with various steps for elec-
Figure 4 illustrates the impact of the ferronickel trical or chemical heating, de-carburizing (if neces-
grade selection on the nickel recovery (including refin- sary), de-sulphurizing, etc. Refining costs per unit of
ing) and the capacity of the smelter. As expected, nickel thus decrease as the grade of the crude ferro-
recovery decreases with increasing grade from about nickel increases because there is less total metal to
96% at the lowest ferronickel grade to about 92% at refine and less impurities to remove.
the highest. However, in several existing smelters, refining is
Nickel production, on the other hand, exhibits a achieved by blowing with oxygen in a ladle or con-
maximum. For a smelter limited by a furnace at 45 verter, using the exothermic oxidation of carbon,
MW, the maximum is ~15,300 t/y nickel at a crude chrome and silicon in the ferronickel to increase the
ferronickel grade of ~38%. The maximum is a result temperature of the metal and melt the fluxes and
of the fact that recovery decreases as the grade of the additives required. But, as discussed above, the con-
ferronickel is increased, but the smelting power centrations of carbon, chromium and silicon in the
requirements also decrease (see next section). A max- crude ferronickel decrease as iron recovery
imum thus exists when the drop in recovery is more decreases. For the case developed in this paper, it
than compensated by the increase in throughput. was thus assumed that ferrosilicon would be added
as necessary to each refining charge in order to
SMELTING POWER REQUIREMENTS increase the exothermic heat of reaction to a level
similar to that which would be obtained from a melt
Figure 5 plots the smelting power requirements containing 2% each of C, Cr and Si (i.e. the levels
as a function of the selected crude ferronickel grade, predicted for iron recoveries above 48%). Conse-
quently, refining costs per tonne of ferronickel
100 15,500 increase as its nickel grade increases because more
Recovery
and more ferrosilicon must be added to maintain the
necessary exothermic heat.
Overall smelter Ni recovery, %

95

15,000
Ni production, t/y

DIFFERENTIAL COST AND NPV CALCULATIONS

90

Maximum production with EF at 45 MW

ca 15,300t/y at 38% Ni
14,500
Once the mass and energy balances were devel-
85
oped, differential operating cost estimates were cal-
culated. The costs included in these estimates are
listed in Table 4.
80 14,000
15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

% Ni in crude FeNi

Table 4. Costs included in differential opex estimates

Fig. 4. Nickel recovery and production vs ferronickel grade selection.
Items Units Unit Cost Sensitivity
Base Case Cases
Mining costs $/lb Ni 0.35 25% of Ni price
600
Power $/MWh 50 25 - 100
Coal $/t 75 50 - 100
Smelting power requirements, kWh/t

(fuel + reductant)
550
Electrode paste $/t 450 -
Gross, per tonne of calcine
Slag disposal costs $/t 1.00
Refining consumables
Gross, per dry tonne of ore
500 Ferrosilicon $/t 1,000 -
Lime $/t 90 -
Net, per tonne of calcine Oxygen $/Nm3 0.90 -
450 Refractory $/t 1,400 -
15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
% Ni in crude FeNi Product dryer fuel $/t 400 -
Product bags $/bag (2 t) 50 -
Product transportation $/t 50 0 - 100
Fig. 5. Smelting power requirements vs ferronickel grade selection.

March/April 2008 4
Metallurgy

On the capital cost side, it was assumed that
both the upstream and downstream unit processes
(dryer, kiln and refinery) have sufficient capacity; the
smelter is thus furnace limited. Therefore, the only
piece of equipment that changes from case to case is
the furnace off-gas system: more reduction must be
achieved at the lower ferronickel grades and the fur-
nace off-gas systems are thus larger and more expen-
sive. However, the capex differentials are not very
consequential. For example, the off-gas system for a
furnace producing 20% nickel ferronickel was esti-
mated at about US$2 million more than that of a fur-
nace operating at 35% nickel.
For the net present value (NPV) calculations, rev-
enues were calculated based on the nickel and iron
prices and the discount rates quoted in Table 5,
assuming 20 years of operations. It was further
assumed that the off-gas systems were installed in
the last year of construction, just before commission-
ing (Year 1), that ramp-up would take two years (one
month heat-up, five months to 50% of capacity, a
further six months to 75% and 12 more to 100%)
and that the furnace would require a major rebuild in
Table 5. Selected values for NPV calculations
Items Units Base Case
Revenues
Ni price $/lb Ni 5.00
Iron credits $/t Fe 200 0 – 100 – 300 – 400 – 500
NPV calculations
Discount rate % 10
its tenth year, reducing production that year to 75%
of capacity.
Finally, it should be noted that all the NPV differ-
entials (∆NPV, in millions of US$, abbreviated to
MUS$) shown in the graphs were referenced to the
case of zero iron credits and a ferronickel grade of
35%.
DISCUSSION
IMPACT OF IRON CREDITS
It should be no surprise that the most important
factor in determining the optimum ferronickel grade
is the value received for its iron content. The impact is
illustrated in Figure 6. As seen, for iron credits of
$300 per tonne and less, the economical optimum is
obtained for operation around 35 to 40% nickel in
crude ferronickel. It is only for iron credits above
$400/t that the economic optimum shifts to lower
grades between 18 and 25% Ni.
The question thus arises as to what are the iron
credits received by producers. Producers are reticent
about releasing this information. Some will admit to
receiving no iron credits, while others will simply say
that the iron credits pay for the transportation costs.
It therefore appears that iron credits are typically less
than $100/t. However, it is possible that iron credits
do fluctuate significantly depending on the nickel and
steel markets, in that these credits may be high in
periods of tight supply and non-existent at other
times. Another approach is thus necessary to estimate
what the maximum iron credits could be and this is to
look at the steel scrap and pig iron markets. These
markets indicate that steel scrap and melting steel
prices have been in the $70 to $250 per tonne range
in 2006.
It is consequently safe to say that credits for iron
in ferronickel are probably always less than $300/t.
Figure 6 thus indicates that the economic optimum
for a furnace-limited ferronickel smelter processing
Sensitivity Cases
ore of the quoted composition will be achieved at
~35% nickel in crude ferronickel. (Note that the non-
2.50 - 10.00 - 15.00
magnetic range for ferronickels, ~27 to 30% nickel,
is also shown in Figure 6; producers and customers
who depend on magnetic separation for slag cleaning
0-5
and/or electromagnets for handling would want to
avoid this range.)
IMPACT OF NICKEL PRICES
The impact of LME prices on the economic opti-
mum is shown in Figure 7. As seen, the higher nickel
prices accentuate the conclusion reached in the pre-
ceding section, namely that the economic optimum is
to produce a high-grade ferronickel around 35 to
40% nickel. The only time the lower ferronickel
grades break even with the higher grades would be
when nickel prices are lower than about $2.50/lb. This
conclusion is a direct consequence of the production
graph shown in Figure 4; higher grades mean lower
unit power consumption and thus higher throughput.

80
150
60 Ni price
Fe credits US$/lb
US$/t 40
100

500 20
400 2.50
50 300 0
MUS$
∆ NPV, MUS$

200
100 -20
0 0 5.00
∆NPV,

-40

-60
-50
-80

-100 -100
Non-
10.00
Magnetic
Range -120 15.00
-150 -140
15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
% Ni in crude FeNi % Ni in crude FeNi

Fig. 6. Impact of iron credits on economically optimum ferronickel grade. Fig. 7. Impact of nickel prices on economically optimum operating point.

5 CIM Bulletin ■ Vol. 101, N° 1107

 Metallurgy

IMPACT OF ORE COSTS expected, as higher grades imply less reduction and
therefore less reductant requirements.
In the previous graphs, the ore costs were calcu-
lated for a mine having fixed costs of US$1 million per IMPACT OF DISCOUNT RATE
year and variable costs of $700/t of nickel. The min-
ing costs thus amounted to about $0.35/lb of nickel Finally, the impact of the assumed discount rate
processed. However, off-shore smelters (such as the is shown in Figure 11. Some producers may value
Japanese) pay about 25% of LME for the nickel con- future earnings more highly than others and the NPV
tained in the ore they purchase from New Caledonia calculations were thus repeated for discount rates of
and Indonesia. 5 and 0%; a lower discount rate actually emphasizes
NPV calculations were thus carried out for ore the economic advantages of operating at higher
costs of $0.35/lb and 25% of LME at nickel prices of ferronickel grades.
both $5 and $10/lb. Figure 8 illustrates the results;
higher ore costs shift the curves slightly, but not IMPACT OF SMELTER BOTTLENECKS
enough to change the economic optimum.
These preceding conclusions were reached for a
IMPACT OF PRODUCT TRANSPORTATION COSTS smelter capable of sustaining its electric furnace at a
fixed MW input, irrespective of the calcine demand.
Figure 9 illustrates the impact of the product However, some smelters may be kiln-limited and,
transport costs. As expected, the higher the trans- thus, might not be able to produce all the calcine
portation costs, the higher the ferronickel grade needed to maintain furnace power at lower reduc-
should be. Even when such costs are very low (for tions. It was verified that these conclusions do also
example for a ferronickel smelter built next door to a apply to such operations, although the threshold in
stainless steel mill), the economic optimum is still at iron credits above which higher reductions and iron
the higher ferronickel grades. recoveries are economically advantageous is lower (at
about $100/t) than the $300/t quoted above.
IMPACT OF COAL PRICES
METALLURGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Figure 10 shows the effect of coal costs; higher
coal prices shift the curves towards slightly higher All the above conclusions were reached based on
ferronickel grades, but not significantly. This is as economic considerations only, but operators may ask

80
80
60
60
40 Product transport costs
40 US$/t
US$/lb
20
20 LME Ore costs
0
MUS$

0 5.00 25% of LME

NPV, MUS$

0
-20
-20
50
∆ NPV,

5.00 0.35 -40

-40
100
-60 -60
10.00 25% of LME
∆

-80 -80
-100 -100
-120 10 .00 0.35
-120
-140
5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% -140
10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
% Ni in crude FeNi
% Ni in crude FeNi

Fig. 8. Impact of ore costs on economically optimum operating point. Fig. 9. Impact of transportation costs on economically optimum operating
point.

60
120
Discount rate
100
40 0%
80

60
5%
20
40
10%
NPV, MUS$

MUS$

20
0 0
∆ NPV,

Coal price
US$/t -20
∆

-20 50 -40

-60
75
-40 -80
150
-100

-60 -120
10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

% Ni in crude FeNi % Ni in crude FeNi

Fig. 10. Impact of coal costs on economically optimum operating point. Fig. 11. Impact of discount rate on economically optimum operating point.

March/April 2008 6
Metallurgy

whether there are metallurgical considerations that are shown as open and solid circles, respectively, and
might reinforce or negate these conclusions. that the Larco points are off-scale due to their
extreme SiO2/MgO ratio of >7.)
CARBON BOILS AND SILICON REVERSIONS For most smelters plotted, the SiO2/MgO ratio is
less than 1.8 and the FeO content has little influence
Smelters operating at low ferronickel grades (and on the slag liquidus. These smelters are thus free to
thus high reductions) often experience major carbon strive for the economically optimum ferronickel grade
boil and silicon reversion episodes (Nelson, Gelden- without consideration for the slag liquidus and result-
huis, MIraza, Badrujaman, Taofik Hidyat, Janhari et ing superheat.
al., 2007). These episodes lead to slag foaming or On the other hand, smelters such as Cerro
large excursions in slag or metal superheats. Matoso and Larco operate at SiO2/MgO ratios well in
As shown in Figure 3, operation at iron recover- excess of 2.0, in a range where FeO has a large neg-
ies in excess of 48% lead to carbon, chromium and ative influence on the liquidus of the slag. In this case,
silicon concentrations in the metal of around 2% the lower the reduction and the recovery of iron to
each. These high concentrations can lead to carbon the ferronickel, the higher the FeO content of the slag
boils or silicon reversions, particularly when experi- and, thus, the lower its melting point. One would
encing unstable kiln operation. On the other hand, therefore think that these smelters would have
operation at iron recoveries of less than 30% limit the selected to operate at high iron recoveries in an
carbon, chromium and silicon concentrations in the attempt to increase the liquidus of their slag and
crude ferronickel to less than 0.1 to 0.2% each. Car- decrease slag superheat. Instead, they are operating
bon boils and silicon reversions cannot occur at these at low iron recoveries of 22 to 24%.
low levels. In this case, the metallurgical considera- To further illustrate this point, mass balances
tions therefore reinforce the economic advantages of were developed for production of ferronickel at 25
operating at lower reductions and higher ferronickel and 35% nickel from an ore assaying 2% nickel and
grades. 14% iron at a SiO2/MgO ratio of 2.24, right in the
middle of the eutectic trough at the worse possible
MELTING POINTS AND SUPERHEATS point. Relevant details are given in Table 6.
Thus, operation at the reduction required to pro-
Most laterite smelters operate with ore composi- duce a ferronickel at 25% nickel would result in a slag
tions for which iron has little or limited impact on the superheat of 85°C, while operation at the lower
liquidus of the resulting slag. This is best illustrated by reduction required to produce a ferronickel at 35%
Figure 12, the well-known pseudo-binary diagram, would be at a slag superheat of 125°C. This is less
which plots the melting point of the slag as a function than the 150°C of superheat that the Cerro Matoso
of its SiO2/MgO ratio and FeO content. (Note that in furnaces experience.
this figure the slag liquidus and tapping temperatures Consequently, slag superheat considerations are
not sufficient to trump the economic advantage of
operating at lower reductions. Modern electric fur-
1650
9 naces can be designed to withstand the higher heat
2 fluxes that result from the higher slag superheats.
15% FeO
5 3
1600
6 1
8
20% Table 6. Example of smelter operating at SiO2/MgO ratio of
2.24
1550
4
Parameter Unit High Fe Low Fe
7
25% Recovery Recovery
Iron recovery % 40 25
1500
Crude ferronickel
Temperature, °C

Composition %Ni 25 35
%C 0.5 0.04
30%
1450 %Cr 0.5 0.04
Slag Temperatures
Tapping/Liquidus
%Si 0.5 0.04
/o 1. Falcondo
Liquidus °C 1,400 1,435
/o 2. Cerro Matoso
1400 /o 3. Morro do Niquel
Superheat °C 50 50
/o 4. PT Aneka Tambang Operating T °C 1,450 1,485
/o 5. Pamco
/o 6. SLN 35% Slag
/o 7. PT Inco
/o 8. Codemin Composition %FeO 14.5 17.5
1350 /o 9. Loma de Niquel

Example
%SiO2 54.8 52.9
%MgO 24.6 23.7
∆T, slag - metal °C 75 75
1300
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 Operating T °C 1,525 1,560
SiO 2/MgO ratio
SiO2 / MgO ratio
Liquidus °C 1,440 1,435
Superheat °C 85 125
Fig. 12. Pseudo-binary phase diagram – FeO vs SiO2/MgO.

7 CIM Bulletin ■ Vol. 101, N° 1107


OVERALL CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
The main conclusions and implications of this
study are as follows:
• For all likely iron credits, the economics of laterite
smelting favours low reductions and high metal
grades. Iron recoveries should thus be limited to 15
to 30%.
• This conclusion was reached for a smelter making
use of co-reduced chromium and silicon (or added
equivalent ferrosilicon) as the source of heat for
the refining reactions. The economics would be
even more in favour of the high metal grades if
modern ladle refining procedures had been
assumed, as refining cost significantly decrease
with increase grade in this case.
• For normal laterite ores, the corresponding crude
ferronickel grades are in the range of 30 to 40%
nickel.
• Because the reducing conditions are less intensive,
the carbon, chromium and silicon concentrations
in the resulting crude ferronickel are low, less than
~0.1 to 0.2% each.
• Consequently, problems such as carbon boils and
silicon reversions, often experienced at higher
reductions, would be completely avoided.
• Producers and customers should recognize the
extra cost of producing lower ferronickel grades. In
other words, if customers desire extra iron units in
their ferronickel, they should pay for them.
Paper reviewed and approved for publication by the
Metallurgical Society of CIM.
March/April 2008 Copyright © 2008. All rights reserved. ISSN 1718-4169
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Metallurgy
Maurice Y. Solar has over 35 years' experience in process
research, development and design, project management and
operation in the nickel industry, most of it in the laterite field.
This experience includes management of the PT Inco smelter and
coordination of the technical and field components of the Goro
hydrometallurgy project.
Bert Wasmund was one of the early pioneers at Hatch. He has
been a world leader in metallurgical and chemical process
development for producing metals for more than 35 years and
has designed smelting facilities for numerous operations around
the world. His career is based on innovative technologies and
strong leadership skills.
Ian Candy has been involved in process design for a wide range
of metallurgical facilities, particularly nickel, copper and
platinum group metals for some 20 years. Engineering activities
include process definition and optimization, flowsheet
development, field surveys, conceptual and feasibility studies,
energy analyses, technical evaluations, equipment design and
cost estimating.
REFERENCES
Bergman, R.A. (2003). Nickel production from low-iron lat-
erite ores: Process descriptions. CIM Bulletin, 1072, 127-
138.
Nelson, L.R., Geldenhuis, J.M.A., Miraza, T., Badrujaman, T.,
Taofik Hidyat, A., Jauhari, I., et al. (2007). The 11th Interna-
tional Ferro-Alloy Congress (Infacon XI). Role of operational
support in ramp-up of the FeNi-II furnace at PT Antam in
Pomalaa. New Delhi: Macmillan India.
Skretting, H. (2002). Crude ferronickel and related slag com-
positions. NMS Summer Meeting, May 24, 2002.
Warner, A.E.M., Diaz, C.M, Dalvi, A.D., Mackey, P.J., &
Tarasov, A.V. (2006). World nonferrous smelter survey, Part
III: Nickel: Laterite. Journal of Metals, 3, 11-20.
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