Identification of mineral and element of Slag Nickel from PT. Vale Sorowako

Abstract

We report the mineral and element analysis of Slag Nickel that produced from nickel smelter at the PT. Vale Sorowako. The sample were directly collected from the mining site and crushed until it become powder. The element analysis performed by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and the mineral identification made by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRF data showed that the Slag Nickel contains Fe (79.72 %), Si (10.8 %), Mn (2.23%), and Ni (2.04%). The semiquantitative analysis of XRD pattern indicated that the main minerals in the slag nickel are hematite (Fe3O4) and silica (SiO2). There are Those data reveal that slag nickel still contains many valuable elements which have potential application for advanced technology. Further research is needed to extract those element or mineral from slag nickel.