VALMETHYDRO: Valuable Metals Through Innovative Hydrometallurgy

Summary

Start/end dates: 05/2016 - 03/2019

The VALMETHYDRO primary objective is to optimize and to improve the CMI synthetic rutile process in order to render it capable to efficiently treat ilmenite-based resources with lower Ti grades and complex mineralogy.

In the existing CMI process, high-grade ores are roasted at temperatures between 800 and 1000 °C to selectively and uniformly magnetize the ilmenite fraction, so that gangue minerals may be easily removed for ex. by dry magnetic separation with high recoveries. Roasting enhances the leaching operation for iron removal and at the same time renders the titania fraction insoluble. To this end, oxidative and reducing roasting is practiced. Roasted ilmenite is leached in hot hydrochloric acid to remove almost completely iron and other unwanted impurities thereby enhancing the titanium dioxide content. The enriched titanium bearing material after leaching of the reduced ilmenite is known as synthetic rutile (SR). The quality of the synthetic rutile depends mainly on the effectiveness of the leaching process and on the type of ilmenite raw source (mineralogy, metal grade, gangue type).  

Within the VALMETHYDRO project, the leaching behavior of various ilmenite ores provided by the industrial sponsor are under investigation. The experimental study encompasses focused impacts on raw material pre-treatment coupled with advanced process-oriented characterization, kinetic modeling, reactor design, up-scaling, etc. Process parameters leading to an efficient titania purification (95.5 % TiO2) and possible recovery of value-added by-products (REE) are studied in order to bring conceptual technological flowsheet.

ULg Project Leader

Prof. Stoyan Gaydardzhiev

Industrial Partner

CMI - Cockerill Maitenance et Ingénierie. Mr. Bernard GERMAY, Mr. Pascal WARROUX

Principal researcher

Dr. James MWASE