LAUSR

Abstract Two of the main challenges presented by the implementation of nickel laterites atmospheric acid leaching are: (i) high acid consumption and (ii) high final iron concentrations in the PLS. In the current work, a novel process was devised by applying pyrometallurgical and bio-hydrometallurgical operations. The experimental set-up comprised the reduction of a nickel limonitic ore with hydrogen gas in a rotary kiln, at 900 °C, until all the goethite was converted to metallic iron. Subsequently, the reduced sample was bioleached by mesophilic microorganisms grown on Fe2+ (Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans) at 5% solids, 32 °C, and pH