Recovery of Niobium and Tantalum from Low Grade Tin Slag - A Hydrometallurgical Approach

Subramanian, C and Suri, A K (1998) Recovery of Niobium and Tantalum from Low Grade Tin Slag - A Hydrometallurgical Approach. In: Environmental & Waste Management in NoN-Ferrous Metallurgical Industries. NML Jamshedpur, Jamshedpur, pp. 100-107. ISBN 81-87053-28-7

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Abstract

.Niobium and tantalum are known to co-occur with cassiterite deposits.During the process of extraction of tin by cassiterite smelting, these metals join the slag phase and the slag is processed for the recovery of niobium and tantalum. The processed slag rich in niobium and tantalum is digested with hydrofluric acid, and subjected to solvent extraction for the removal of additional impurities as well as for the separation of niobium and tantalum. This paper reports on the upgradation of tin slag typically containing 3.4% Nb205 and 3.0% Ta205 by a combination of chemical treatments. In the process, unwanted associations in the slag viz. alumina, silica, calcia, iron oxide etc., are selectively solubilized by a sequential treatment with alkali and acid leaching leaving a residue containing 10.6% Nb205 and 10.4% Ta205 with a recovery of 86.5 and 95.5% respectively. The product represents an enrichment of about 3.24 times and was found to be suitable for the extraction of niobium and tantalum by HF-H2SO4 dissolution.

Item Type:Book or NML Publication
Uncontrolled Keywords:Niobium/Tantalum recovery, Leaching , Solvent extraction, Cassiterite
Divisions:Metal Extraction and Forming
ID Code:2842
Deposited By:Sahu A K
Deposited On:13 May 2011 09:27
Last Modified:06 Jan 2012 12:30
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