All-Russian Scientific-research Institute of Mineral Resources named after N. M. Fedorovsky (Moscow, Russia):

Ozhogina E. G., Head of Department, Doctor of Geology and Mineralogy, vims-ozhjgina@mail.ru
Yakushina O. A., Senior Researcher, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, yak_oa@mail.ru

State Geological Museum named after V. I. Vernadsky, Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow, Russia):
Kozlov A. P., Chief Researcher, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, kozap@mail.ru

The results of metallurgical stale nickel-bearing slags mineralogical study are given. This study was aimed at determining slag morphological composition and possible areas of recycling or disposal to minimize anthropogenic environmental impact. Features of technogenic mineral substance are discussed. Among them macro homogeneity, variable granular composition of ore phases and slag aggregates, both among themselves and often with slag-forming material, resulting in heterogeneous, ultra-thin polymineral aggregates; significant amount of amorphous and weakly crystallized phases; wide range of isomorphic substitutions in structure of the main ore minerals in slag. Complex of implemented mineralogical methods include optical microscopy, Xray powder diffraction, X-ray microtomography, electron microscopy with microprobe analysis. Mineral and chemical composition, a set of textural-structural characteristics useful industrial mineral phases, their quantitative content and morphological features were detected. Potentially useful ore phases in slag were chromite, pentlandite, pyrrhotite, wustite and 3-component metallic phase. The data obtained revealed mineralogical criteria for the prospects and possible directions of the tested slags recycling. So as the metal technogenic phase form thin metacrystals in ore aggregates with spotted and eutectic structure that is unfavorable for slag secondary beneficiation. However, individualized form of ore and metal phases segregations, the high nickel content, being comparable to the industrial one and at the same time with relatively high content of isomorphic cobalt, and virtual absence of harmful and toxic impurities in the slags, determine the possibility of their chemical-metallurgical processing for metal recovery.

1. Erokhin Yu. V. Mineralogy of slags of Rezhevsky nickel plant. Mineralogiya Tekhnogeneza. 2012. No. 13. pp. 50–65.
2. World and Russian nickel market in 2016: an Analytical review. MetalResearch group. Moscow, 2016. 190 р. URL: http://www.metalresearch.ru/world_rus_nickel_market_2016.html (accessed: 30.01.2017).
3. Ozhogina E. G., Gorbatova E. A. Peculiarities of morphological structure of waste of South Urals sulfide ores enrichment. Razvedka i Okhrana Nedr. 2013. No. 7. pp. 38–42.
4. Ozhogina E. G., Yakushina O. A., Bronitskaya E. S., et al. Analysis and selection of metallurgical slags processing methods. Non-ferrous Metals. 2002. No. 8. pp. 26–29.
5. Industrial production in Russia. 2016. Statistical collection. Moscow: Rosstat, 2016. 347 p.
6. Khalturina T. I. On the question of nickel production metallurgical slag disposal. Vestnik Irkutskogo Gosudarstvennogo Tekhnicheskogo Universiteta. 2016. No. 3 (110). pp. 124–131.

7. Vaisberg L. A., Zarogatskiy L. P., Azbel Yu. I. Universal technology of processing and regeneration of metallurgical slag, refractories and foundry sands. Chernye Metally. 2000. No. 4. pp. 21–24.
8. Huang.Yi, Guoping Xu, Huigao Cheng, Junshi Wang, Yinfeng Wan, Hui Chen. An overview of utilization of steel slag. Procedia Environmental Sciences. 2012. Vol. 16. pp. 791–801. DOI: 10.1016/j.proenv.2012.10.108.
9. Piatak N. M., Parsons M. B., Seal II R. R. Characteristics and environmental aspects of slag: a review. Applied Geochemistry. 2015. Vol. 57. pp. 236–266. DOI: 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2014.04.009.
10. Shen H., Forssberg E., Nordström U. Physicochemical and mineralogical properties of stainless steel slags oriented to metal recovery. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 2004. Vol. 40, Iss. 3. pp. 245–271. DOI: 10.1016/S0921-3449(03)00072-7.
11. Yildirim I., Prezzi M. Chemical, mineralogical, and morphological properties of steel slag. Advances in Civil Engineering. 2011. Vol. 2011, Article ID 463638. 13 p. DOI: 10.1155/2011/463638.
12. Vaisberg L. A., Kameneva E. E. X-ray computed tomography in the study of physico-mechanical properties of
rocks. Gornyi Zhurnal. 2014. No. 9. pp. 85–90.
13. Yakushina O. A., Оzhogina E. G., Khozyainov M. S. Microtomography of technogeneous mineral matter. Vestnik Instituta Geologii Komi Nauchnogo Tsentra Uralskogo Otdeleniya Rossiyskoy Akademii Nauk. 2015. No. 11. pp. 38–43.
14. Vaisberg L. A., Zarogatskiy L. P. New equipment for crushing and grinding materials. Gornyi Zhurnal. 2000. No. 3. pp. 49–52.