That is ok. I think I know what you are asking albeit not too familiar with DNi but understand some of the older processes.
With sulphide deposits becoming scarcer, I recognise, and I guess the industry also recognises, a need for better low cost effective ways to traditional methods to extract say nickel (other minerals) out of laterites, given laterites per se have lower grades than sulphides. Ironically, if I recall the traditional methods are relatively new as well because laterite deposits probably only started been developed in the early 1990s - I think Bulong was the first followed by Murrin Murrin (the latter then known as Anaconda). And laterites are wide ranging btw and the problem you have with the conventional technologies is you have to use a different method (or even jigging of the methods for deposit type) depending on the composition of the laterite itself to extract the payable loads - that is because the deposits tend to be hetrogeneous instead of homogeneous. Each traditional method is capital intensive, has high operating costs, is CO2 intensive and creates quite a bit of waste to get rid off. DNi could be a game changer for laterites.
1. High Pressure Acid Leach is used on red limonite and yellow limonite - uses sulphuric acid as part of the leaching process. The slides before that one show what minerals can be recovered from that process in the laterite (and obviously nickel and cobalt are some).
2. Caron seems to on yellow limonite and transition - its essentially a reduction roasting process - using ammonia leach as part of the process.
3. Smelting you use on your transition and saprolites/serpentines etc, and that is more of a high energy more enhanced acid leach process.
The problem with laterites is the picture above is a bit simplistic because they can also be mixed and cut across the different structures in the one layer thus been hetrogeneous you need to deal with variable and different compounds in the porcess. So you end up with companies operating laterite projects possibly doing a combination of the above. The slides in the pack - take Ravensthorpe that uses HPAL - it is actually a HPAL process with some form of complicated leaching process from recollection. It is why these types of projects can blow out capex cost wise and not meet production targets without significant fixes - BHP got fed up with Ravensthorpe and sold it to claim a loss, whilst Anaconda was a bit of a disaster until fixes were piut in place. But the traditional processes are improving, and First Quantum did quite well when it took over Ravensthorpe, albeitIi think that project did face some hard times recently and is on C&M because costs from laterites still are way above sulphides.
As I understand DNi, it is applicable to both saprolites and limonites, which removes a lot of the issues with laterite processing because you get bits of each in the deposits because not all laterites are shaped like the diagram above. It is one process dealing with the these types of laterites in total. As I understand it the major cost savings is the regants used can be recycled, so waste is lower and your costs therefore lower, as well as your CO2 emissions. As I understand it, DNi also makes it easier to deal with say iron in the 'laterite' especially in removing it. DNi uses nitric acid instead of, say, sulphuric acid, and this makes separation easier of the payable minerals.
I think I know what company you are referring to as well - it is one trying produce high purity alumina as one product, and nickel and cobalt sulphate as the other products and is really designing a process around getting as many of the payable loads. HPA is interesting in that the growth areas are LEDs but a key for HPA is that it is also the seperator between the anode and cathode in lithium ion batteries. And your starting a DFS.
I guess, we'll find out because still need to see how the DNi process operates at scale, albeit in pilot testing seems to have done ok. I hope it does work well as nickel is a key component part in a NCM and NCA batteries. Time will tell is the answer. The reason why I say this is laterite deposits I think all have had teething problems getting to production - been the ones I am aware of Murrin Murrin. Biulong, Cawse etc etc but I do hope that technology works. In part I want it to work because good quality grade nickel is required in the cathode of batteries, and it is NCA and NCM batteries that are a key to hydroxide production, which benefits hard rock spodumene producers (i.e. a bit of self-interest too by me).
It is a watch this space for me essentially, but mining always provides solutions to problems and DNi is essentially a tailored solution to dealing with laterites. To start with laterites were not mined for their nickel until the 1990s from recollection (certainly teh case in Australia) so not surprised companies are seeking to tailor better solutions to how you deal with low grade deposits which laterites are that have varying challenges and types of minerals and impurities in them etc etc
As a final point, my post above was also around the term Class 1 and Class 2 nickel. I guess a key for laterites is also ensuring that the impurities in the nickel are low enough for them to be considered in EV batteries per se (i.e. Class 1 and the DNi process appears to be one that can achieve that if it can be proven to work at scale in production). Obviously, Class 2 nickel refers to say what you put in steel production, which will still be the dominant market for nickel in any event (albeit EV share of nickel will rise IMO on teh basis battery types remain predominantly NCM and NCA).
A bit of a long winded answer but firstly I did read up a little on the process because as I said upfront not too familiar with it.
Might end up putting this post in the relevant stock forum as presume it is off topic to LSA as you correctly say.
All IMO
LSA Price at posting:
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