JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 3 (AEST) -- Indonesia's Coordinated Minister of Marine Affairs and Investment, Luhut, recommended a step-by-step temperature acid leaching (STAL) process to treat laterite nickel ore.
This wet process was developed by Indonesia TMM (PT. Trinitan Metal and Minerals). STAL wet process is used to leachate laterite nickel ore under normal pressure. The nickel recovery rate is more than 90%.
Luhut hopes that TMM and its Japanese partner Akira will bring the STAL plant up and running to prove the reliability of the process and attract more investors.
Luhut adds that the advantages of STAL wet process are simplified equipment, convenient construction, save investment cost, can be run independently in small scale production, suitable for the construction of the plant before the mining area.
With this process, small mining enterprises are able to process their low grade nickel ore.
The STAL hydrometallurgical plant can process 170,000 wet tons of nickel ore with 1.1% nickel per year. The process saves power and requires only 1.3 megawatt hours per 1,800 tons of nickel produced.
