Application of ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy to hydrometallurgy

Abstract

The ores and concentrates utilized for non ferrous metal extraction through hydrometallurgical processing contain iron in different forms. During processing iron gets distributed in various streams such as leach solution, leach residue and precipitated iron cake/impurities. Many secondary high iron containing materials such as iron scrap, blue dust etc. can be used to produce specific value added products such as ferrites and iron oxides. ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy can be applied to understand the phases of iron in such processes. The present paper gives a few examples of useful information derived from Mössbauer spectroscopy during studies on conversion of goethite to magnetite, synthesis of hematite and dissolution of Cu, Ni and Co from matte obtained by smelt-reduction of manganese nodules.