CHAPTER

EXTRACTION BEHAVIOR
OF SCANDIUM FROM A
REFRACTORY NICKEL LATERITE
ORE DURING THE PRESSURE
11
ACID LEACHING PROCESS
S. Kaya, Y.A. Topkaya
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey

1. INTRODUCTION
Lateritic nickel (Ni) ore deposits are exploited primarily by hydrometallurgical techniques for the
production of Ni as the major metal and cobalt (Co) as a byproduct of the process. The presence of
the rare earth element scandium (Sc) in these deposits has increased the importance of these
resources, and considerable research has been undertaken to extract this metal together with Ni and
Co. Although most Ni has been supplied from sulfide-based resources since the 1950s, the trend in Ni
production changed toward the more abundant laterite ores that constitute more than two-thirds of
the worldwide Ni reserves (Moskalyk and Alfantazi, 2002). To confirm these remarks in light of the
historical data of Ni production from sulfides and laterites, a small portion of Ni (less than 10%) was
produced from lateritic sources in the 1950s. However, this ratio increased up to about 42% in 2003
and rose to about 50% in 2012. In addition, it is forecasted that approximately 55–60% of Ni will be
derived from lateritic sources in the 2020s (Dalvi et al., 2004; Jolly, 2012; Sudol, 2005). Although
there seems to be an encouraging projection for the use of lateritic Ni ores, there are a number of
problems in treating refractory-type lateritic Ni ores owing to their incomplete dissolution behavior
(Kaya and Topkaya, 2011).
Concerning Sc, it is widely distributed in the earth’s crust with an estimated concentration of
approximately 22 g/ton (t) and does not occur in the earth’s crust in native form. Because of its lack of
affinity for the common ore-forming anions, it is rarely concentrated in the earth’s crust and is
generally found in more than 100 minerals in trace amounts in the form of solid solutions (Gambogi,
2014). Because of the similarities in ionic radius, the most common substitution mechanism is the
replacement of Fe3þ and Al3þ with Sc3þ. Scandium in laterites is distributed widely among minerals
but it may be especially associated with goethite, clay minerals, or manganese oxides such as Ni-rich
asbolane, in which it substitutes for Fe3þ and Al3þ. Because Sc is distributed in much the same manner
as Ni in lateritic ore minerals, the leaching methods that solubilize Ni can be assumed to solubilize Sc
as well.

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172 CHAPTER 11 EXTRACTION BEHAVIOR OF SCANDIUM

Because Sc is widely dispersed, it is obtained during hydrometallurgical processing of various ores

or tailings and the residues from previously exploited mines as a byproduct. In particular, it is obtained
during the processing of uranium, tin, tantalum, titanium, tungsten, and rare earth element sources; the
major producer countries are China, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine (Gambogi, 2014). Solvent
extraction and related technologies such as ion exchange and liquid membrane technologies are
generally used for the separation and purification of Sc from various solutions. Among these tech-
nologies, solvent extraction is the most widely used technique in which commercially available
di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid, tributyl phosphate, Cyanex 272, Cyanex 301–302, and Cyanex 923
reagents were reported for Sc separation and purification (Wang and Cheng, 2011).
Principally, Sc is used in high-strength Al–Sc alloys. Because they are lightweight and have
high strength, these alloys are mainly used in aerospace applications and high-performance
sporting goods. Lighting, electronics, and laser research are other important application areas of
Sc, mostly in its elemental or halide/oxide form. Besides Al–Sc alloys, the use of Sc in solid oxide
fuel cells is an important and promising area where Sc is to be employed. A typical Ni laterite ore
contains Ni (1–2%), Co (0.05–0.10%), iron (Fe) (15–50%), and aluminum (Al) (2–5%); studies
have shown that 50–60 g/t Sc is also concentrated in some of the lateritic Ni deposits (Haslam and
Arnall, 1999). In China, the ores are considered worthy of exploitation if the content of Sc ranges
between 20 and 50 g/t. This is why lateritic Ni resources seem to be a new promising source in the
near future (Xu and Li, 1996).
Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the leaching behavior of Sc together with Ni and
Co during high-pressure sulfuric acid leaching (HPAL) of a lateritic ore. During this investigation, the
basic process parameters (acid/ore ratio, leaching temperature, particle size, and leaching duration)
together with sulfur were studied to increase leaching efficiency; the effects of the studied parameters
are presented and discussed.

2. EXPERIMENTAL
2.1 SAMPLING AND CHARACTERIZATION
The experimental study was started with the physical, chemical, and mineralogical characterization of
150 kg of representative Eskisehir/Yunusemre lateritic ore obtained from approximately 5000 tons of
stockpile from the mine site located in Turkey. Initially, the bulk density of the run-of-mine ore was
determined according to the ratio of ore weight to ore volume, without joggle. Next, the ore sample
was dried until a constant dry mass was attained at 105  C. The dried ore was ground to 38 mm and a
Quantachrome Ultrapycnometer 1000 helium gas pycnometer was used for solid density determina-
tion. To ensure the consistency of chemical analysis methods, multiple techniques were attempted and
compared during metal extraction calculations. Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analyses were
performed using Perkin Elmer DRC-II ICP-MS and Perkin Elmer Optima 4300 DV ICP-OES devices.
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses were conducted using a Niton X-Met 820 analyzer, and finally,
atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) analyses were performed using a Perkin Elmer AAnalyst
400 AA analyzer. For mineralogical characterization, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron
microscopy (SEM), and differential thermal analysis (DTA)/thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)
methods were used. Differential thermal analysis and TGA were performed using a Simultaneous
Setaram DTA and TGA device working at a heating rate of 10  C/min within the temperature range of
 3. RESULTS 173

35 –1000  C in an air atmosphere with an aluminum crucible. X-ray diffraction measurements were
performed with a Rigaku Ultima-IV model X-ray diffractometer with a Cu-Ka X-ray tube working
under 40 kV and 40 mA. Finally, the presence of minerals was verified with an FEI Nova Nano 430
model scanning electron microscope.

2.2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

High-pressure sulfuric acid leaching experiments were performed in a 2-L Parr-4532 titanium
(grade 4) autoclave. To observe the leaching behavior; a slurry (150 g of dried ore and 350 cc of
deionized water) of 30% solid content (excluding acid) and an additive (if necessary) were digested
with 96–98 wt% reagent-grade sulfuric acid with a stirring speed of 400 rpm in all experiments.
Because there was no direct acid injection system in the autoclave, sulfuric acid was added initially
together with the ore slurry, and the reactor was allowed to heat to the desired leaching temperature for
40–45 min. The start of the reaction was defined as the zero time when the reactor temperature reached
the set point; subsequently, the leaching duration was recorded. After completion of the reaction, the
system was allowed to cool to room temperature using tap water circulation via a titanium cooling coil
inside the reaction chamber over 1 h. After digestion, the slurry was vacuum filtered in a Buchner
funnel using Whatman grade 4 filter paper for solid–liquid separation. Leach residue on the filter paper
was washed well with slightly acidic (pH 2) deionized water to clean the residue from the entrained
leach solution fully without the precipitation of a portion of ions at higher pH. After washing, the leach
residue was dried overnight at 105  C and ground for chemical analyses. Meanwhile, the filtrate of the
slurry was stored for chemical analyses, free acid determination, and oxidation-reduction potential
(ORP) measurement. To measure the free acid remaining after digestion, the pregnant leach solution
was titrated with 0.2 M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution. During titration, 280 g/L of reagent grade
dipotassium oxalate monohydrate solution was used as a chelating agent to eliminate the interfering
effect of some ions. Then, the residual acid was calculated from the amount of NaOH consumed via
titration. For the oxidation–reduction potential measurements, a Pt-Ag/AgCl electrode (saturated
with KCl) was used at room temperature, and the measured values were reported according to the
Pt-Ag/AgCl reference electrode.

3. RESULTS
3.1 CHARACTERIZATION RESULTS
The moisture content determination experiment indicated that the as-received limonitic ore sample
contained about 14% moisture. The bulk and solid densities were measured as 1.08 and 3.51 g/cm3,
respectively. Chemical analysis of the representative laterite sample is presented in Table 1.

Table 1 Chemical Analysis of the Ni Laterite Ore Sample

Constituent Fe Ni Co Sc (g/t) Al2O3 MnO MgO

Content (wt%) 46.2 1.54 0.093 106 3.61 1.04 0.71

Constituent Cr2O3 SiO2 CaO Na2O K2O As S
Content (wt%) 2.25 14.56 0.98 0.02 0.02 0.12 0.02
174 CHAPTER 11 EXTRACTION BEHAVIOR OF SCANDIUM

To determine the mineralogical structure of the ore sample; the XRD, SEM, and DTA/TGA
analyses were performed. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that the original sample contained high
amounts of hematite (Fe2O3), quartz (SiO2), and goethite (FeOOH), as shown in Figure 1.
The presence of the goethite phase was also verified by DTA/TGA, which exhibited a distinct
endothermic peak between 260 and 340  C according to the dehydroxylation reaction of goethite to
hematite. In addition to these major minerals, some peaks appearing to belong to kaolinite
(Al2Si2O5(OH)4) and nimite ((Ni,Mg,Feþþ)5Al(Si3Al)O10(OH)8) were present in the XRD pattern.
However, because of the suppression of these minor peaks by the major ones, their presence was
verified by separating the clay and non-clay fractions and analyzing these fractions in detail by XRD
and SEM. In addition, a minor amount of cordierite (Mg2Al4Si5O18) mineral was detected in the
non-clay fraction. The SEM results also provided information regarding other elements with no
distinct mineral phases in the sample. According to the SEM results; nickel, chromium, and man-
ganese were distributed substitutionally within the crystal structures of the iron oxides and the clay
minerals (kaolinite and nimite). Similarly, Co was mainly present in the crystal structure of clay
minerals. However, there was no evidence for the distribution of Sc in the SEM results because of its
relatively lower concentration in the sample. To interpret the distribution of Sc, the ore sample was
separated into different size fractions (850 þ 710, –710 þ 500, –500 þ 355, –355 þ 250,
–250 þ 180, –180 þ 125, –125 þ 90, –90 þ 63, –63 þ 45, and 45 mm) by wet screening, and each
fraction was analyzed chemically. There was a strong correlation in the distribution of Sc, Fe, and Al
within similar size intervals, which indicated the presence of Sc within the crystal structures of the iron
and clay minerals.

FIGURE 1
X-ray diffraction patterns of the original laterite ore sample, its HPAL leach residue, and the leach residues of
HPAL experiments performed at different temperatures and acid loads.
 4. DISCUSSION 175

Table 2 Reliability of Valuable Metal Extraction Efficiencies (%)

Element HPAL-I HPAL-II HPAL-III HPAL-IV Mean Std. Dev.

Ni 86.2 84.9 86.1 85.5 85.7 0.5

Co 86.7 86.9 85.6 85.7 86.2 0.6
Sc 81.5 79.9 80.9 80.1 80.6 0.6

3.2 PRESSURE ACID LEACHING RESULTS

To ensure the reliability of this study and the reproducibility of the experimental results, four digestion
tests were repeated with the same parameters; the obtained metal extraction efficiencies are reported in
Table 2.
According to the test data obtained at 255  C leaching temperature with 260 kg acid/t of dry ore for
60 min leaching duration and 850 mm particle size, it was observed that the Ni, Co, and Sc extraction
efficiencies were sufficiently close to rely on the results of the experiments. Thus, the obtained data
were interpreted within the range of this confidence limit.

4. DISCUSSION
4.1 EFFECT OF SULFURIC ACID/ORE RATIO
Before starting the acid load experiments, the initial amount of acid was predicted to be 270 kg sulfuric
acid/t of dry ore according to the stoichiometry of the acid-consuming elements. According to this
prediction, different acid concentration experiments were performed in the range of 160–350 kg. The
extraction results of acid load experiments (Figure 2) revealed that the acid load did not have a

FIGURE 2
Effect of acid load on Ni, Co, and Sc extractions (255  C, 60 min, and 850 mm).
176 CHAPTER 11 EXTRACTION BEHAVIOR OF SCANDIUM

significant effect on the Ni extractions. However, the Co extractions appeared to be adversely affected
beyond 300 kg of acid per ton of dry ore. In terms of Sc, acid additions beyond 260 kg led to a dramatic
decrease in the extraction of Sc.
To understand the effect of increasing the acid load, the XRD patterns of the leach residues were
analyzed. The most important findings are shown in Figure 1 and labeled as (5) Min. Acid and (6) Max.
Acid. Beyond 260 kg of acid addition, there was an increasing tendency for the formation of a new
precipitate, which was determined to be basic ferric sulfate (FeOHSO4). The presence of such a
precipitate is also supported by a reported study performed for the hydrolysis of Fe from sulfate
solutions (Queneau and Weir, 1986). To verify the reported results in detail, the free acid in the final
pregnant leach solutions and the amount of sulfur remaining in the leach residue were determined;
results are shown in Figure 3.
It was previously reported that solids with sulfur contents similar to those of basic ferric sulfate or
jarosite form at free acid concentrations above a breakpoint, whereas a sulfur-deficient material
(hematite) forms at acid concentrations below this breakpoint (Fleming, 2010; Umetsu et al., 1977;
Whittington et al., 2003). As seen in Figure 3, after 260 kg of acid load, there is no change in the residual
free acid, which indicates that the excess sulfuric acid precipitates in the form of a sulfur-containing
precipitate that is in parallel with the increasing amount of sulfur in the leach residue. Thus, available
findings of the experiments indicate the possibility of Sc precipitation together with basic ferric
sulfate owing to similarity in ionic radii of Sc3þ and Fe3þ. The previous mineralogical studies also
indicated that Sc3þ substitutes for Fe3þ in the jarosite-type structures (Dutrizac and Chen, 2009).

FIGURE 3
Free acid of the solution and percent sulfur in leach residue with respect to acid load (255  C, 60 min,
and 850 mm).
 4. DISCUSSION 177

Similarly, according to a study on Sc co-precipitation, Sc was carried by ferric sulfate through mixed
crystal formation during precipitation (Purkayastha and Pai Verneker, 1959). Thus, the following
HPAL tests were conducted with 260 kg of sulfuric acid per ton of dry lateritic ore.

4.2 EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE

Temperature variations in the HPAL experiments were limited to the temperature range of
245–275  C. When the results given in Figure 4 are considered, an approximately 4% increase was
observed in the extraction of Ni with the increasing leaching temperature. However, there was not a
considerable change in the extraction of Co. When the behavior of Sc was observed, an unexpected
situation was noticed that was similar to the acid load experiments.
It seems that the dissolved Sc in the pregnant leach solution was most likely decreasing owing to
the precipitation of some newly formed phase. As stated by Chou et al. (1977), the leach temperature,
acid/ore ratio, and leaching duration have a significant effect on the sulfate content of the leach residue.
In particular, sulfur losses (i.e., solid sulfate content) are higher for high leach temperatures and high
acid/ore ratios. The increase in sulfur content of the leach residue with temperature suggests the
formation of a hydrolysis product with high sulfur content such as basic ferric sulfate. According to the
sulfur content analyses of the leach residues, the sulfur contents increased from 1.13% to 1.15%, to
1.31%, and finally to 1.70% with increasing temperature. To check the effect of increasing temperature
in detail, the XRD patterns of the leach residues were compared. The most important findings are
shown in Figure 1 and labeled as (3) Min. Temp and (4) Max. Temp. The figure shows that an
increasing tendency for the formation of a new precipitate was found to be basic ferric sulfate
(FeOHSO4). Because of the reasons stated above, the remaining HPAL tests were conducted at 255  C
to determine the effect of the other parameters.

FIGURE 4
Effect of temperature on Ni, Co, and Sc extractions (60 min, 850 mm, and 0.260 kg acid/ore ratio).
178 CHAPTER 11 EXTRACTION BEHAVIOR OF SCANDIUM

4.3 EFFECT OF PARTICLE SIZE AND LEACHING DURATION

By choosing the optimum leaching parameters, as described in Table 3, the corresponding leach
extractions were obtained as 85.7% for Ni, 86.2% for Co, and 80.6% for Sc. The related concentrations
of Ni, Co, and Sc in the pregnant leach solution were analyzed as 5502, 321, and 34 mg/L, respectively.
Because the extraction values of valuable metals are relatively low for the efficient production of these
metals, the effects of leaching duration and particle size were tested. In industrial practice, the pressure
leaching is generally conducted between 60 and 120 min. Thus, to study a broader range, the pressure
leaching experiments were conducted between 0 and 360 min. According to the results presented in
Table 3, it seems that the leaching was almost complete within the first 120 min of reaction and there
was no effect of further leaching durations on the extraction of the desired metals.
To understand the effect of ore grind on the degree of leaching yields, the available sample was
further ground from 100% 850 mm to 100% 425 mm and 100% 75 mm. The wet screen analysis of

Table 3 Effect of the Experimentally Studied Parameters on the Extractions of Ni, Co, and Sc
Studied Parameters Ni (%) Co (%) Sc (%)

Duration (min) Fixed parameters

0 255  C, 850 mm, 0.260 acid/ore ratio 70.9 62.8 32.6
30 255  C, 850 mm, 0.260 acid/ore ratio 82.3 80.3 68.7
60 255  C, 850 mm, 0.260 acid/ore ratio 85.7 86.2 80.6
90 255  C, 850 mm, 0.260 acid/ore ratio 86.3 86.5 80.2
120 255  C, 850 mm, 0.260 acid/ore ratio 87.4 88.7 82.7
360 255  C, 850 mm, 0.260 acid/ore ratio 88.2 88.8 83.7
Particle size (mm) Fixed parameters
850 255  C, 60 min, 0.260 acid/ore ratio 85.7 86.2 80.6
425 255  C, 60 min, 0.260 acid/ore ratio 87.7 88.1 83.6
75 255  C, 60 min, 0.260 acid/ore ratio 88.3 88.4 83.6
Extreme case Fixed parameters
75 mm, 360 min 255  C, 0.260 acid/ore ratio 88.7 90.6 84.7
Optimum condition Fixed parameters
255  C, 60 min, 850 mm, 0.260 acid/ 85.7 86.2 80.6
ore ratio
Sulfur addition Fixed parameters
(kg/t ore)
No addition 255  C, 60 min, 850 mm, 0.260 acid/ 85.7 86.2 80.6
ore ratio
1 255  C, 60 min, 850 mm, 0.260 acid/ 85.8 87.5 82.0
ore ratio
2 255  C, 60 min, 850 mm, 0.260 acid/ 86.0 88.5 82.1
ore ratio
3 255  C, 60 min, 850 mm, 0.260 acid/ 86.1 89.7 82.2
ore ratio
 4. DISCUSSION 179

the 850 mm size sample indicated that about 50% of this sample was already below 75 mm. Thus, in
grinding the sample from 850 to 75 mm, the remaining 50% of the ore was ground to under 75 mm.
As a result of grinding, only a 2–3% increase was observed in the extraction yields of desired metals
within 60 min (Table 3). However, this increase was observed to be unsatisfactory owing to over 10%
unreacted Ni, Co, and Sc in the leach residue. Thus, to investigate an extreme case, the leaching
duration of the finely ground ore (75 mm) was increased further from 60 to 360 min. According to the
data given in Table 3, the longer leaching duration did not affect the Ni extraction considerably.
However, there were small increases in the Co and Sc extractions.
In summary, it seems that 10–15% of Ni, Co, and Sc could not be extracted into the leach solution
even in the extreme case (75 mm particle size and 6 h leaching duration). To understand the
possible reasons of these low extraction results, the XRD findings of the original sample and its leach
residue obtained under the optimum HPAL conditions were compared. The XRD patterns of the ore
and its leach residue are labeled (1) Original Sample and (2) Leach Residue, respectively, in
Figure 1. According to Figure 1, the Ni-, Co-, and Sc-containing goethite minerals were completely
dissolved during high-pressure acid leaching. However, hematite and clay minerals (kaolinite and
nimite) were still present in the leach residue, which may be because of their incomplete dissolution
during leaching. In the literature, there are some reported studies referring to the difficulty in
leaching hematite mineral (Kaya and Topkaya, 2011; Liu et al., 2009). Therefore, the unreacted
primary hematite remaining in the leach residue may be one possible reason for low valuable metal
extractions. To check the possibility of this mechanism, the chemistry of Fe during pressure leaching
should be considered. According to the proposed model for Fe chemistry, the dissolved Fe obeys the
following chemical reactions above 150  C, depending on the acidity of the solution (Tozawa and
Sasaki, 1986):

2 Fe3þ þ 3 H2O / Fe2O3 þ 6 Hþ (1)

2 Fe3þ þ 2 SO4 2 þ 2 H2 O / 2 FeOHSO4 þ 2 Hþ ð2Þ
According to the literature data, the dissolved Fe species start to precipitate by ex situ precipi-
tation in solution on the primary hematite surfaces. This precipitation reaction was reported to begin
within the first several minutes of leaching (Chou et al., 1977; Georgiou and Papangelakis, 1998;
Papangelakis et al., 1996). Thus, it is expected that chemical resistance of hematite to acid
dissolution under the autoclave conditions is one possible reason for incomplete metal extractions
during pressure leaching. This was also shown by a study conducted by transforming all of the
goethite present in the ore to hematite by suitable heat treatment at 350  C. It was seen that after the
goethite to hematite transformation, a dramatic decrease was observed in the metal extraction
efficiencies that proved the problematic behavior of hematite mineral under autoclave conditions
(Kaya and Topkaya, 2011). The SEM studies also indicated the presence of unleached relatively
coarse primary hematite as well as very fine precipitated secondary iron oxide particles in leach
residues. Because hematite is a stable phase under HPAL conditions, it was possible that this mineral
did not leach and associated Ni, Co, and Sc remained locked in the leach residues. A diagnostic leach
test conducted on leach residues indicated that all of the residual Ni, Co, and Sc were associated with
oxide minerals that were readily soluble in a hydrochloric acid digest. Regarding clay minerals, it is
known that these minerals are soluble during sulfuric acid leaching. However, a previous study
reported that kaolinite and clinochlore (chlorite group clay member), similar to nimite, exhibited
180 CHAPTER 11 EXTRACTION BEHAVIOR OF SCANDIUM

resistance to pressure acid leaching and remained in the leach residue; the exact mechanism is still
unknown (Chen, 1998). Thus, after obtaining insight into the problem encountered during leaching,
the addition of sulfur at the start of HPAL was attempted, and the effect of this reagent on metal
extractions was studied.

4.4 EFFECT OF SULFUR ADDITION

It is stated in the literature that the kinetics of mineral dissolution may be enhanced by reductive
leaching in the presence of acids and reducing agents for lateritic Ni ores (Hallberg et al., 2011;
Senanayake et al., 2011). The mechanism of enhancement was proposed in the literature such that at
low redox potential (Eh) or ORP, the reduced species in solution facilitate electron transfer into the
oxide lattice, which promotes the breakdown of oxide lattice by dilute acid (Tindall and Muir, 1997).
Therefore, to decrease the stability of hematite during autoclave conditions by reductive leaching, the
Eh of the solution was adjusted by the addition of elemental sulfur into the leaching system. Before the
sulfur addition, Eh of the pregnant leach solution varied between 900 and 960 mV for the experiments
mentioned above. Upon the addition of sulfur, the Eh of the solution decreased to the 300–400 mV
range. According to the results presented in Table 3, there was no considerable effect of sulfur addition
on the degree of Ni and Sc extractions. However, when Co is considered, there was an approximately
3% increase in the extraction of Co with the increasing amount of sulfur addition. This finding
indicated that the Co-containing minerals were more affected by the sulfur addition as a reducing agent
than were the other minerals.

5. CONCLUSION
In this experimental study, the extraction behavior of Ni, Co, and Sc with respect to the acid load,
leaching temperature, leaching duration, and particle size was examined during a high-pressure acid
leaching process. The acid concentration experiments indicated that increasing acid load beyond
260 kg/t of dry ore led to the formation of basic ferric sulfate precipitate; in addition, simultaneous to
the formation of this precipitate, Sc extractions decreased considerably. When the leaching temper-
ature experiments are considered, there was also a sign of basic ferric sulfate formation at higher
leaching temperatures. Similarly, there was a decrease in the extraction values of Sc. The coinciding
behavior between the basic ferric sulfate formation and decreasing Sc extractions was predicted to
result from simultaneous precipitation of Sc together with Fe at higher acid loads and higher leaching
temperatures owing to the similar ionic radii. Thus, the acid load and leaching temperature were
selected to be 260 kg/t of dry ore and 255  C, respectively. The leaching duration and particle size
experiments indicated that 10–15% of Ni, Co, and Sc could not be extracted into the leach solution,
even under extreme leaching conditions (100% 75 mm particle size, and 6 h leaching duration) at
255  C and with 260 kg acid/t dry ore. Thus, the possible cause of this behavior was investigated; the
lack of extraction was determined to result from incomplete dissolution of refractory minerals such as
primary hematite and clay minerals. To overcome this incomplete dissolution problem, the addition of
sulfur was tested; no considerable effect was observed in terms of Ni and Sc extractions.
As a future prospect, the experimental findings of this study indicated that lateritic Ni–Co ores
seem to be a valuable resource for the extraction and recovery of Sc in addition to Ni and Co present in
the ore.
 REFERENCES 181

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors express their special thanks to META Nikel Kobalt A.S. for supplying the limonitic ore sample of
Eskisehir/Yunusemre and for supporting the chemical analyses by XRF, AAS, and ICP methods. In addition, the
contributions of the METU Central Laboratory in ICP/MS/OES, DTA/TGA, and XRD analyses, the METU
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department in SEM analyses, the METU Chemical Engineering
Department in AAS analyses, and the SGS Ankara Geochem Lab in ICP/OES analyses are gratefully acknowl-
_
edged. Finally, the authors are thankful to TÜBITAK for providing a financial grant to support this study.

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