Composition of tailings after selective reduction of laterite

Abstract

The selective reduction process generates products in the form of concentrates and tailing/by-products. There is high percentage of iron and other elements in the tailings that are not extracted in selective reduction process. Properties of by-products of selective reduction were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP–OES), ultraviolet-visible (UV–VIS), and scanning electron microscopy energy dispersion spectroscopy (SEM–EDS). Based on the results of this study, the properties of iron-sulfur, iron-magnesium-aluminium, and silica phases in the tailings can be interpreted experimentally. For future research, it can be the reference for such processes as acid and base leaching. Pure iron extracted from tailings can be used for metal fuel in the future. The tailings composition data will help future researchers to find optimal processes for the tailings.