Nickel, copper and cobalt recovery from Copper Cliff converter slag

An investigation on the recovery of nickel, copper and cobalt from converter slag was conducted in order to understand the behaviours of these metals. Additions of certain reductants and/or fluxes were investigated in an effort to increase Ni, Co and Cu recoveries from Copper Cliff converter slag. Converter slag was pre-mixed with the additives and set inside an electric furnace for one hour at 1300°C. The reductants chosen were; pig iron, ferrosilicon (15wt% Si), copper-silicon alloy (10 and 30wt% Si), coke and FeS. The fluxes used were silica and lime.;The investigation found that carbon and silicon (contained in the reductant) additions to converter slag would promote the formation of metallic iron that combined with nickel and cobalt to form a metallized matte, which settled out of the slag.