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Variation of the specific energy when the ore grade decreases: the case of nickel, cobalt and PGMs

Abstract:

Demand for materials is increasing every year due to technology development. The properties of metals provide specific features that help companies manufacture better devices with a small amount. However, the small ratio of recycling of these metals has meant a significant growth of the production. In this paper, nickel, cobalt, and the platinum group of metals have been analyzed to calculate the specific energy for concentration when the ore grade decreases. Ni, Co, and PGMs are critical metals for technology development, such as electric vehicles, due to their importance in manufacturing batteries to provide autonomy to cars. These metals are not abundant in the crust, and it is expected to keep extracting them, facing a situation with the ore grade very low. An evaluation has been carried out in order to evaluate the estimation of the variation of the specific energy for concentration when the ore grade decreases in mines.