Lateritic nickel ore deposits are surficial, weathered rinds formed on ultramafic rocks

which contain 0.2% or more of nickel, resulting in a goethite-limonite or nontronite clay

containing 0.5% to 2.5% nickel.

Ore Genesis

Nickeliferous laterite is formed by weathering and oxidation of ultramafic rocks which

preferentially enriches the laterite (a residual regolith material) in nickel at the expense of
magnesium and silica which are removed by dissolution in the environment.

Lateritization of ultramafic igneous rocks (serpentinite, dunite, or peridotite containing

about 02 - 0.3% nickel) often results in a considerable nickel concentration.

Types of nickel laterites

Two kinds of lateritic nickel ore have to be distinguished: goethite-limonite types and
nontronitic clay types.

Limonite type laterites (or oxide type) contain 1-2% Ni bound in goethite which is
highly enriched due to very strong leaching of magnesium and silica. Beneath this zone
nickel silicate ore can be formed, frequently containing > 2% Ni that is incorporated in
silicate minerals primarily serpentine and chrysoprase. In pockets and fissures of the
serpentinite rock green garnierite can be present in minor quantities, but with high nickel
contents - mostly 20-40%. It is bound in newly formed phyllosilicate minerals. All the
nickel in the silicate zone is leached downwards (absolute nickel concentration) from the
overlying goethite zone. Absence of this zone is due to erosion.

Saprolite type laterites are formed beneath the oxide zone, which may sometimes be
removed by erosion. Saprolite nickel ores may contain green nontronitic nickel bearing
clays, garnierite, chrysoprase and are generally deficient in nickel bound in goethite-
limonite.

Ore deposits

Typical nickel laterite ore deposits are very large tonnage, low-grade deposits located
close to the surface. They are typically in the range of 20 million tonnes and upwards
(this being a contained resource of 20,000 tonnes of nickel at 1%) with some examples
approaching a billion tonnes of material. Thus, typically, nickel laterite ore deposits
contain many billions of dollars of in-situ value of contained metal.

Ore deposits of this type are restricted to the oxide and saprolite profiles developed above
ultramafic rocks. As such they tend to be tabular, flat and areally large, covering many
square kilometres of the Earth's surface. However, at any one time the area of a deposit
being worked for the nickel ore is much smaller, usually only a few hectares. The typical
nickel laterite mine often operates as either an open cut mine or a strip mine.
Extraction

Nickel laterites are a very important type of nickel ore deposit. They are growing to
become the most important source of nickel metal for world demand, and are second for
now to sulphide nickel ore deposits.

Nickel laterites are generally mined via open cut mining methods with ore extracted via
some form of hydrometallurgy process, with two main process routes; high-pressure acid
leach (HPAL) and for some types of limonite type nickel laterites, heap leach-SX-EW
process routes are viable.

HPAL Processing

High Pressure Acid Leach processing is required for nickel laterite ores with a
predominantly nontronitic character where nickel is bound within clay or secondary
silicate substrates in the ores. The nickel (+/- cobalt) metal is liberated from such
minerals only at low pH and high temperatures, generally in excess of 250 degrees
celsius.

The advantages of HPAL plants are that they are not as selective toward the type of ore
minerals, grades and nature of mineralisation. The disadvantage is the energy required to
heat the ore material and acid, and the wear and tear hot acid causes upon plant and
equipment. Higher energy costs demand higher ore grades.

Heap (Atmospheric) Leach

Heap leach treatment of nickel laterites is primarily possible only for clay-poor oxide-
rich ore types where clay contents are low enough to allow percolation of acid through
the heap. Generally, this route of production is much cheaper - up to half the cost of
production - due to the lack of need to heat and pressurise the ore and acid.

Ore is ground, agglomerated, and perhaps mixed with clay-poor rock, to prevent
compaction of the clay-like materials and so maintain permeability. The ore is stacked on
impermeable plastic membranes and acid is percolated over the heap, generally for 3 to 4
months, at which stage 60% to 70% of the nickel-cobalt content is liberated into acid
solution, which is then neutralised with limestone and a nickel-cobalt hydroxide
intermediate product is generated, generally then sent to a smelter for refining.

The advantage of heap leach treatment of nickeliferous laterite ores is that the plant and
mine infrastructure are much cheaper - up to 25% of the cost of a HPAL plant - and less
risky from a technological point of view. However, they are somewhat limited in the
types of ore which can be treated.

Pig iron oxide ores

A recent development in the extraction of nickel laterite ores is a partcular grade of

tropical deposits, typified by examples at Acoje in the Philippines, developed on
ophiolite sequence ultramafics. This ore is so rich in limonite (generally grading 47% to
59% iron, 0.8 to 1.5% nickel and trace cobalt) that it is essentially similar to low-grade
iron ore. As such, certain steel smelters in China have developed a process for blending
nickel limonite ore with conventional iron ore to produce stainless steel feed products.
This pig iron process short-circuits the typical costly hydrometallurgical route for
producing nickel, which is then used in stainless steel anyway.

Laterite is a surface formation in hot and wet tropical areas which is enriched in iron and
aluminium and develops by intensive and long lasting weathering of the underlying
parent rock. Nearly all kinds of rocks can be deeply decomposed by the action of high
rainfall and elevated temperatures. The percolating rain water causes dissolution of
primary rock minerals and decrease of easily soluble elements as sodium, potassium,
calcium, magnesium and silicon. This gives rise to a residual concentration of more
insoluble elements predominantly iron and aluminium.

Laterites consist mainly of the minerals kaolinite, goethite, hematite and gibbsite which
form in the course of weathering. Moreover, many laterites contain quartz as relatively
stable relic mineral from the parent rock. The iron oxides goethite and hematite cause the
red-brown color of laterites.

Laterite covers have mostly a thickness of a few meters but occasionally they can be
much thicker. Their formation is favoured by a slight relief which prevents erosion of the
surface cover. Laterites occurring in non-tropical areas are products of former geological
epochs. Lateritic soils form the uppermost part of the laterite cover; in soil science
specific names (oxisol, latosol, ferallitic soil) are given for them.

In geosciences only those weathering products are defined as laterite, which are
geochemically - mineralogically most strongly altered. They must be distinguished from
less altered saprolite which has often a similar appearance and is also very widespread in
tropical areas. Both formations can be classified as residual rocks.

Laterites can be as well soft and friable as firm and physically resistant. Indurated
varieties are sometimes cut into blocks and used as brickstones for house-building. The
term laterite which is derived from the Latin word later = brickstone is given because of
this usage. History of laterite monuments dates back to 200 B.C. with megaliths of
Kerala, South India. Most of the third generation Khmer temples at Angkor are built with
laterite and have survived for over 1000 years. Later, world heritage sites such as
Churches of Old Goa (India) and Walls in G5 monuments of My Son, Vietnam are also
built in Laterite. Till today it is a comon vernacular building material and profoundly
used in road construction. Nowadays solid lateritic gravel is readily put in aquaria where
it favors the growth of tropical plants.

Hardened laterite varieties are also used to construct laterite roads (also known as laterite
pistes), especially in Africa. Such roads range from local roads to major highways. If
well-constructed with attention to compacting the roadway base and drainage, and well
maintained by grading, reasonably high average speeds and smooth travel can be
achieved on them when dry. In East Africa, a softer laterite locally called murram is used
for road building.

Lateritization is economically most important for the formation of lateritic ore deposits.
Bauxite which is an aluminium-rich laterite variety can form from various parent rocks if
the drainage is most intensive thus leading to a very strong leaching of silica and
equivalent enrichment of aluminium hydroxides above all gibbsite.

Lateritization of ultramafic igneous rocks (serpentinite, dunite, or peridotite containing

about 0,2 - 0,3% nickel) often results in a considerable nickel concentration. Two kinds
of lateritic nickel ore have to be distinguished: A very iron-rich nickel limonite or nickel
oxide ore at the surface contains 1-2% Ni bound in goethite which is highly enriched due
to very strong leaching of magnesium and silica. Beneath this zone nickel silicate ore can
be formed, frequently containing > 2% Ni that is incorporated in silicate minerals
primarily serpentine. In pockets and fissures of the serpentinite rock green garnierite can
be present in minor quantities, but with high nickel contents - mostly 20-40%. It is bound
in newly formed phyllosilicate minerals. All the nickel in the silicate zone is leached
downwards (absolute nickel concentration) from the overlying goethite zone. Absence of
this zone is due to erosion.