Feldspar Weathering in Lateritic Saprolite
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Summary Kaolinite is the major mineral in the saprolite of a fossil laterite, found intercalated amid basalt flows from the Lower Cretaceous in the Negev desert. The kaolinite was produced by pseudomorphic alteration of plagioclase. Haematite is a secondary product and accumulated in a ferruginous soil horizon. In the saprolite Sr, Mn and Cu were strongly depleted, Zn and Ni were slightly depleted, whereas Co and Cr accumulated. In the ferruginous horizon, Sr, Mn, Cu and Zn were severely depleted, while Cr and Ni accumulated. The lateritic formation is evidence for the possible existence of tropical or intertropical conditions during the Lower Cretaceous in the Negev.
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Nickel laterite ore is used to produce nickel metal, predominantly to manufacture stainless steel as well as nickel sulfate, a key ingredient in the batteries that drive electric vehicles. Nickel laterite production is on the rise and surpassing conventional sulfide deposits. The efficiency of mining and processing nickel laterites is defined by their mineralogical composition. Typical profiles of nickel laterites are divided into a saprolite and a laterite horizon. Nickel is mainly concentrated and hosted in a variety of secondary oxides, hydrous Mg silicates and clay minerals like smectite or lizardite in the saprolite horizon, whereas the laterite horizon can host cobalt that could be extracted as a side product. For this case study, 40 samples from both saprolite and laterite horizons were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) in combination with statistical methods such as cluster analysis. Besides the identification of the different mineral phases, the quantitative composition of the samples was also determined with the Rietveld method. Data clustering of the samples was tested and allows a fast and easy separation of the different lithologies and ore grades. Mineralogy also plays a key role during further processing of nickel laterites to nickel metal. XRD was used to monitor the mineralogy of calcine, matte and slag. The value of mineralogical monitoring for grade definition, ore sorting, and processing is explained in the paper.
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The research was conducted in Madang and Serakaman Tengah area, Sebuku Island Subdistrict, Kotabaru Regency, South Kalimantan Province which is one of the nickel potential areas in Indonesia. The aim of this research is to know the characteristic and distribution of laterite nickel mineralization. The rocks present in the study area are serpentinized dunite, serpentinized harzburgite, gabbro, silicified gabbro, tuff, and basalt. Methods used in this research were surface geological mapping, rock observation and sampling from outcrop and drill core representing each laterite horizon from limonite horizon to bedrock. Laboratory analysis consist of X-Ray Fluorescene (XRF) analysis is used to determine the abundance of certain chemical elements and compound which characterized the mineralization stage zonation in the laterite profile. The laterite deposite in the study area can be divided based on physical and chemical properties into four zones; red limonite, yellow limonite, saprolite, and bedrock. Saprolite is dominated by a group of hydrocylicic minerals (serpentine) so it can be predicted that the laterite types are developing laterite oxide and laterite silicate types.
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