Extractive metallurgy of nickel, cobalt and platinum-group metals / Металлургическое извлечение никеля, кобальта и металлов платиновой группы

This book describes extraction of nickel, cobalt and platinum-group metals. The starting point is ore-in-place and the finishing point is high-purity metals and chemicals.
We have combined the description of these metals in one book because they very often occur together, are extracted together and have similar properties.
The objectives of the book are to:

(a) describe how these metals occur and are extracted;
(b) explain why these extraction processes have been chosen;
(c) indicate how the processes can be operated most efficiently, with minimal impact on the environment; and,
(d) suggest future improvements.
Much of the information in the book was obtained by visiting many of the world’s nickel-, cobalt- and platinum-group metal extraction plants. We thank our hosts profusely for so  graciously and expertly guiding us around their facilities.
Our book could not have been written without enormous help from our colleagues. We thank them all most deeply.
The platinum industry is traditionally secretive about publishing details of the refining processes. Both Impala Platinum and Lonmin Platinum openly shared information, and for that we are grateful. Paul Lessing, in particular, provided freely and openly of his knowledge and deep experience in the platinum refining industry.
We have used SI-based units throughout. However, we use
C for temperature, bar for pressure, and g/L for concentration because they are so common. The unit for gas volume is Nm3
, defined as 1 m3 of gas at a temperature of 273 K and a pressure of 1 atmosphere (1.01325 bar). Lastly, unless otherwise stated, dollar always means US dollar, and % always means % by mass. Two abbreviations are used throughout the book: PGM and PGE for platinum-group metals and platinum-group elements, respectively. <...>