Disclosed is a method for producing battery-grade nickel sulfate by using laterite nickel ore comprising the following steps: sorting the laterite nickel ore to obtain lump ore and sediment ore; crushing the lump ore, and then performing heap leaching, to obtain a crude nickel sulfate solution A; separating the sediment ore to obtain high chromium ore, low iron, high magnesium ore, and high iron, low magnesium ore, and drying, roasting, reducing, and sulfurating the low iron, high magnesium ore to obtain low nickel matte; blowing and performing water extraction on the low nickel matte, and then performing oxygen pressure leaching, to obtain a crude nickel sulfate solution B; performing pressure leaching on the high iron, low magnesium ore to obtain a crude nickel sulfate solution C; and performing extraction on the crude nickel sulfate solutions A, B, and C, and then evaporating and crystallizing, to obtain battery-grade nickel sulfate.

Disclosed in the present invention is a method for preparing nickel sulfate from a nickel-iron-copper alloy. The method comprises: in a high-pressure oxygen environment, mixing a nickel-iron-copper alloy crushed material, aqueous ammonia, ammonium sulphate, and a corrosion assisting agent, leaching, then performing solid-liquid separation on the leached slurry, adding a precipitant into a filtrate, and performing ammonia distillation to obtain a nickel-containing leachate; then adding an extractant into the nickel-containing leachate to extract nickel so as to obtain a nickel-containing extraction organic phase; and then adding sulfuric acid into the nickel-containing extraction organic phase to perform back extraction of nickel so as to obtain a nickel sulfate solution. According to the present invention, the nickel-iron-copper alloy is separated by using different properties of nickel and iron, nickel is dissolved in a hexamine complex of nickel, iron cannot be dissolved and then continues to be remained in a solid, after the filtrate is collected, the precipitant is added and ammonia distillation is performed to remove copper, the aqueous ammonia is recycled, and the copper ions react with the precipitant to generate a copper sulfide precipitate, and thus, copper in the filtrate is removed, and the purity of nickel sulfate is further improved.

Disclosed in the present invention is a method for preparing nickel sulfate from a nickel-iron-copper alloy. The method comprises: in a high-pressure oxygen environment, mixing a nickel-iron-copper alloy crushed material, aqueous ammonia, ammonium sulphate, and a corrosion assisting agent, leaching, then performing solid-liquid separation on the leached slurry, adding a precipitant into a filtrate, and performing ammonia distillation to obtain a nickel-containing leachate; then adding an extractant into the nickel-containing leachate to extract nickel so as to obtain a nickel-containing extraction organic phase; and then adding sulfuric acid into the nickel-containing extraction organic phase to perform back extraction of nickel so as to obtain a nickel sulfate solution. According to the present invention, the nickel-iron-copper alloy is separated by using different properties of nickel and iron, nickel is dissolved in a hexamine complex of nickel, iron cannot be dissolved and then continues to be remained in a solid, after the filtrate is collected, the precipitant is added and ammonia distillation is performed to remove copper, the aqueous ammonia is recycled, and the copper ions react with the precipitant to generate a copper sulfide precipitate, and thus, copper in the filtrate is removed, and the purity of nickel sulfate is further improved.

Process to decrease silicon content of metal powder produced by hydrogen reduction from ammoniacal ammonium sulphate solutions containing metal ammine complexes, wherein metal (Me) is Ni, Co, or Cu. The process controls the precipitation of metal hydroxide, which is found to be an effective scavenger for silicon. Silicon is preferentially removed from metal diammine sulphate-containing solutions by precipitating with a small amount of a metal hydroxide, and then separating the silicon-bearing metal hydroxide precipitate from the solution. This solution, from which the silicon impurity has been removed with the metal hydroxide precipitate, can then be reduced in one or more densification cycles with a reducing gas to produce an elemental metal powder having a decreased silicon content. Alternatively, the solution is reduced to produce a low silicon metal powder seed material for the first of the one or more densification cycles.

Process to decrease silicon content of metal powder produced by hydrogen reduction from ammoniacal ammonium sulphate solutions containing metal ammine complexes, wherein metal (Me) is Ni, Co, or Cu. The process controls the precipitation of metal hydroxide, which is found to be an effective scavenger for silicon. Silicon is preferentially removed from metal diammine sulphate-containing solutions by precipitating with a small amount of a metal hydroxide, and then separating the silicon-bearing metal hydroxide precipitate from the solution. This solution, from which the silicon impurity has been removed with the metal hydroxide precipitate, can then be reduced in one or more densification cycles with a reducing gas to produce an elemental metal powder having a decreased silicon content. Alternatively, the solution is reduced to produce a low silicon metal powder seed material for the first of the one or more densification cycles.

This application pertains to methods of recovering metals from metal sulfides that involve contacting the metal sulfide with an acidic sulfate solution containing ferric sulfate and a reagent that has a thiocarbonyl functional group, wherein the concentration of reagent in the acidic sulfate solution is sufficient to increase the rate of metal ion extraction relative to an acidic sulfate solution that does not contain the reagent, to produce a pregnant solution containing the metal ions.

This application pertains to methods of recovering metals from metal sulfides that involve contacting the metal sulfide with an acidic sulfate solution containing ferric sulfate and a reagent that has a thiocarbonyl functional group, wherein the concentration of reagent in the acidic sulfate solution is sufficient to increase the rate of metal ion extraction relative to an acidic sulfate solution that does not contain the reagent, to produce a pregnant solution containing the metal ions.

A method for recovering NiSO.sub.4.6H.sub.2O crystals from a nickel rich organic phase is provided. The method includes contacting a nickel rich organic phase with an aqueous strip solution of sufficient H.sub.2SO.sub.4 concentration to extract nickel from the organic phase and of sufficient Ni.sup.2+ concentration to precipitate NiSO.sub.4.6H.sub.2O crystals and form a nickel lean organic phase. Also provided are methods for recovering NiSO.sub.4.6H.sub.2O crystals that include preceding processing steps, including low temperature pressure oxidation (LTPOX) autoclaving of a nickel sulphide concentrate to afford a pregnant leach solution (PLS).

A method for recovering NiSO.sub.4.6H.sub.2O crystals from a nickel rich organic phase is provided. The method includes contacting a nickel rich organic phase with an aqueous strip solution of sufficient H.sub.2SO.sub.4 concentration to extract nickel from the organic phase and of sufficient Ni.sup.2+ concentration to precipitate NiSO.sub.4.6H.sub.2O crystals and form a nickel lean organic phase. Also provided are methods for recovering NiSO.sub.4.6H.sub.2O crystals that include preceding processing steps, including low temperature pressure oxidation (LTPOX) autoclaving of a nickel sulphide concentrate to afford a pregnant leach solution (PLS).

Provided is a method for producing solutions, by which two solutions, namely a high-purity nickel sulfate solution and a mixed solution of nickel sulfate and cobalt sulfate are able to be obtained at the same time from a sulfuric acid solution containing nickel, cobalt and calcium. A method for producing solutions according to the present invention uses a sulfuric acid solution containing nickel, cobalt and calcium and performs a first step S1 for producing a mixed solution of nickel sulfate and cobalt sulfate from the sulfuric acid solution and a second step S2 for producing a solution of nickel sulfate from the sulfuric acid solution in parallel. In the first step, the sulfuric acid solution is subjected to solvent extraction by an extractant, thereby obtaining a first organic solvent after extraction In the second step, the sulfuric acid solution is subjected to solvent extraction by means of an extractant.