An Opportunity Analysis has indicated that A$190 billion worth of nickel in lower-grade Australian nickel laterite deposits could be recovered using effective new technologies. Heap leaching is a promising next-generation technology for treating nickel laterite deposits. It offers a potentially simpler and less costly processing alternative. However, significant technical challenges remain with heap leaching which are preventing its adoption, including issues such as excessive acid consumption (caused by parasitic side reactions), and maintaining high permeability within the heaps.

A research initiative is looking to overcome these hurdles through the development of radically new and improved pretreatment and agglomeration methods. In this cluster, the universities of South Australia (through the Ian Wark Research Institute), Queensland, Melbourne and British Columbia will collaborate with CSIRO. The Ian Wark Research Institute is the lead party and Laureate Professor John Ralston, Director of the Institute, is the Cluster Leader.

The majority of Australia’s nickel resources occur as nickel laterite deposits which tend to be lower-grade and are exceptionally complex and expensive to treat using conventional methods. This is evidenced by the difficulties experienced by all four nickel laterite operations that have started up in Western Australia in the past 15 years. Only one is still operating.