December 07, 2023
The first cobalt-nickel resource recovery demonstration line in the Panxi region has been completed and put into operation
The first cobalt-nickel resource recovery demonstration line in the Panxi region has been completed and put into operation, with a cobalt recovery rate of over 80%. Date: December 6, 2023. Source: Cover News. On December 4, it was learned from Panzhihua Iron and Steel Group that the newly built cobalt-nickel resource recovery demonstration line for vanadium-titanium magnetite in the Panxi region has been completed and put into operation. This is the first production line to recover cobalt-nickel products from vanadium-titanium magnetite resources in the Panxi region, with a cobalt recovery rate of over 80%.
Cobalt-nickel resource recovery demonstration line. Cobalt is an important strategic metal with good high-temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, and magnetic properties. It is an important raw material and strategic resource for manufacturing high-temperature alloys, hard alloys, ceramic pigments, etc. In the vanadium-titanium magnetite in Panzhihua, there are abundant reserves of sulfur, cobalt, nickel, copper, and other associated elements.
In 2004, Panzhihua Iron and Steel Mining Company officially completed the sulfur (cobalt) concentrate production line, realizing the industrialized recovery of sulfur. By 2023, the sulfur (cobalt) concentrate production capacity will reach 45,000 tons per year. However, due to the low cobalt content in sulfur (cobalt) concentrate, cobalt is not priced when sold as a product, resulting in the waste of cobalt resources.
According to the relevant person in charge of Panzhihua Iron and Steel Mining Company, starting from 2021, the company has cooperated with the Institute of Mineral Resources Comprehensive Utilization of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences to carry out the project of "Technical Research on Cobalt Resource Recovery from Associated Cobalt in Panxi Vanadium-Titanium Magnetite". After a large number of experimental studies, a technical solution for sulfur-cobalt separation was formulated to develop new flotation reagents, adjust formulas, and optimize flotation processes, achieving efficient separation and recovery of cobalt-rich minerals. Through sorting, the cobalt grade in the sulfur (cobalt) rough concentrate increased from 0.3% to over 1.0%, and the nickel grade increased from 0.7% to over 2.0%. The cobalt recovery rate reached over 80%.
In 2022, Panzhihua Iron and Steel Mining Company began to independently design and construct the cobalt-nickel resource recovery demonstration line. In October of this year, through systematic research and implementation of technology integration and transformation, a cobalt-nickel resource recovery demonstration line with an annual processing capacity of 30,000 tons of sulfur (cobalt) rough concentrate was built in Xinbaima Company. Up to now, over 100 tons of cobalt-nickel concentrate have been produced.
