Nickel Ore Beneficiation Process

The nickel ore beneficiation process is mainly divided into four stages, achieving efficient recovery and concentration of nickel from the ore through crushing, grinding, gravity separation, and flotation. Adopting a scientific and rational process flow can not only improve the concentrate grade and recovery rate but also effectively reduce beneficiation costs.

1. Crushing and Grinding Stage

This is the foundation for mineral liberation. The "Two-Stage Closed-Circuit Crushing Process" is typically employed: the ore is first coarsely crushed by a Jaw Crusher to reduce large chunks to a moderate size; it then enters a Cone Crusher for secondary crushing to further reduce the particle size.

The crushed product then enters a closed-circuit grinding system composed of a Ball Mill and a Cyclone. The ball mill grinds the ore finely, while the cyclone classifies the material, returning unsatisfactory coarse particles to the ball mill for regrinding. This closed-circuit design allows for precise control of the grinding fineness, ensuring sufficient liberation of nickel minerals from the gangue, which is a necessary condition for efficient subsequent separation.

2. Flotation Method

Flotation is the most widely used method and the core of the entire beneficiation process, especially suitable for sulfide nickel ores. By adding specific collectors and frothers to the flotation cells, the hydrophobicity of the nickel mineral surfaces is enhanced, making them prone to attach to air bubbles and float.

In practice, a "Bulk Flotation-Separation" strategy is often adopted: Copper-Nickel Bulk Flotation is first conducted to collectively concentrate the共生 valuable minerals into a bulk concentrate, maximizing the recovery of valuable elements. Subsequently, Separation Flotation is performed on the bulk concentrate. By adjusting reagent regimes and other conditions, qualified nickel concentrate and copper concentrate are produced separately, achieving comprehensive utilization of resources.

3. Combined Beneficiation Process

To further enhance overall efficiency, combined beneficiation processes are often used. For example, when treating ores with unevenly disseminated particle sizes or containing a large amount of gangue, gravity separation methods (such as a Jig) can be introduced before flotation. Utilizing the density differences between minerals, a portion of the waste rock is pre-discarded, thereby increasing the feed grade to flotation, reducing the flotation throughput, and lowering reagent and energy consumption, ultimately optimizing the process and saving costs.

The nickel ore beneficiation process is a combination of various methods including crushing, grinding, gravity separation, and flotation. Efficient recovery of nickel resources can only be achieved through precise control of the operational parameters in each stage.