Extraction and Refining of the Platinum Metals
In the meantime, nickel matte from the blast furnace operation is broken, crushed and ground in ball mills to 20 mesh. This material is then roasted to nickel oxide in oil-fired 17-feet diameter Herreschoff type furnaces with two hearths separated by an air gap. Ground nickel matte is fed through a hopper on to the top hearth which is kept at a low temperature; it then falls through …