TMS Annual Meeting, 3rd International Symposium on High Temperature Metallurgical Processing, Orlando, Florida, United States Of America, 11 - 15 March 2012, pp.491-498
Conventional ferronickel smelting has five main steps: Drying, calcination, prereduction, smelting and refining. In the scope of the current work, smelting experiments were conducted using Sivrihisar laterite ores (1.26% Ni) of Turkey. The ore samples previously subjected to drying, calcination and prereduction stages were smelted in alumina crucibles in a laboratory-scale horizontal tube furnace under argon atmosphere. Smelting experiments were performed at 1500, 1550 and 1600°C. The amount of excess coal used in prereduction step was another variable. Sivrihisar laterite ore is a limonitic one with low MgO composition. Therefore, MgO was added to the smelting charge as a flux. The effects of experimental variables on metal Ni content and slag composition were investigated.