Recovery of scandium values through selective precipitation of hematite and basic iron sulfates from acid leachates
AssigneeScandium International Mining Corporation
InventorWillem P. C. Duyvesteyn
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Abstract
A method is provided for recovering scandium values from scandium-bearing ores. The method includes providing a scandium-bearing ore; subjecting the scandium-bearing ore to atmospheric pressure acid leaching with sulfuric acid, thereby producing a first, scandium-bearing solution containing ferric (Fe3+) ions; subjecting the first solution to hydrothermal processing, thereby precipitating from the first solution a material selected from the group consisting of hematite and basic iron sulfates and generating a second, scandium-bearing solution; and recovering scandium values from the second solution.
Claims24
A method for recovering scandium values from scandium-bearing ores, comprising:
- providing a scandium-bearing ore;
- subjecting the scandium-bearing ore to atmospheric pressure acid leaching with sulfuric acid, thereby producing a first, scandium-bearing solution containing ferric (Fe3+) ions;
- subjecting the first solution to hydrothermal processing in an autoclave, thereby precipitating from the first solution a material selected from the group consisting of hematite and basic iron sulfates and generating a second, scandium-bearing solution;
- and
- recovering scandium values from the second solution.
A method for recovering scandium values from scandium-bearing ores, comprising:
- providing a scandium-bearing ore;
- subjecting the scandium-bearing ore to atmospheric pressure acid leaching with sulfuric acid, thereby producing a first, scandium-bearing solution containing ferric (Fe3+) ions;
- and
- subjecting the first solution to acid retardation, thus obtaining second and third solutions, wherein the second solution has higher concentrations of Sc and ferric ions than the third solution, and wherein the third solution has a higher concentration of acid than the second solution.
A method for recovering scandium values from scandium-bearing ores, comprising:
- providing a scandium-bearing ore;
- subjecting the scandium-bearing ore to atmospheric pressure acid leaching with sulfuric acid, thereby producing a first, scandium-bearing solution containing ferric (Fe3+) ions;
- precipitating rhomboclase from the first solution by subjecting the first solution to hydrothermal processing in an autoclave, thereby obtaining a second solution which contains ferric ions and in which the concentration of ferric ions is reduced as compared to the first solution;
- and
- extracting a portion of the ferric ions from the second solution, thereby obtaining a third, scandium-bearing solution which is poorer in ferric ions than the second solution.
A method for recovering scandium values from scandium-bearing ores, comprising:
- providing a scandium-bearing ore;
- subjecting the scandium-bearing ore to atmospheric pressure acid leaching with sulfuric acid, thereby producing a first, scandium-bearing solution containing ferric (Fe3+) ions;
- precipitating rhomboclase from the first solution, thereby obtaining a second solution which contains ferric ions and in which the concentration of ferric ions is reduced as compared to the first solution;
- and
- extracting a portion of the ferric ions from the second solution with a solvent extraction reagent containing N-ethylhydroxamic acid, thereby obtaining a third, scandium-bearing solution which is poorer in ferric ions than the second solution.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.