Experimental study on the separation and recovery of chromium from a laterite nickel mine in Indonesia

A laterite nickel mine is located in the northern region of Indonesia. The raw ore contains 2.18% chromium, 0.11% cobalt, and 1.04% nickel. In order to improve the economic benefits of the mine and reduce the interference of chromium containing minerals on subsequent cobalt and nickel metallurgical processes, a gravity-magnetic combined process is used to separate and recover the chromium containing minerals in the laterite nickel mine. Through the process of “ore washing-cyclone-spiral-secondary shaking table-weak magnetic separation-strong magnetic separation”, a qualified chromium concentrate with a chromium content of 33.45% and a chromium recovery rate of 40.23% is obtained. The loss rates of nickel in the chromium concentrate are 1.74% and 0.33%, respectively, effectively achieving the separation and recovery of chromium in the laterite nickel ore.