Process for hydrometallurgical treatment of an indium chloride solution

Process for the hydrometallurgical treatment of a solution of indium chloride and at least one element selected from the group consisting of tin and antimony, comprising the following steps:

• a) adjusting the concentration of free chloride ion in said solution to a value within the range of 3 to 12N by addition of a chloride selected the group consisting of a chloride of an alkali metal, a chloride of an alkaline earth metal and a mixture of these, and adjusting the acidity of said solution to a value in the range 1 to 6N;
• b) separating the indium and the at least one element from the adjusted solution obtained in step a) by bringing said adjusted solution into contact with an organic phase comprising trialkyl phosphate, so as to obtain an organic phase containing the indium and the at least one element;
• c) extracting the indium from the organic phase obtained in step b) by bringing said organic phase into contact with a solution of 0.1 to 3N hydrochloric acid so as to obtain a solution of indium chloride;
• d) extracting the at least one element from the organic phase obtained in step c) by bringing into contact said organic phase with an alkaline sodium solution comprising an alkali metal hydroxide.