Research and development: Innovative recovery methods for Indonesian deposits

UIT is developing new recovery methods for strategically valuable elements within the research project "Efficient and Sustainable Recovery of Strategic Elements from Indonesian Ore Deposits (StratOre)":  PGEs (Platinum Group Elements), Co, Ni and Sc.

They are considered to be strategically valuable elements, which are mainly used in catalysts, aircraft alloys, sports and high-tech equipment, solid oxide fuel cells, electromobility as well as in the rapidly growing field of additive manufacturing. Laterites (highly weathered rocks) as a natural source are excellent exploration targets and often located in tropical regions. The collaboration with the Indonesian companies will enable research on current deposits and establish a trustful cooperation with international partners.

Due to the many years of experience and expertise of UIT in this field, the hydrometallurgical tests are planned at the Dresden site and carried out in a UIT pilot plant in our technical center.

The project aims are:

• detailed mineralogical and geological view of lateritic deposits based on three case studies from Indonesia
  (Sebuku Fe-(Ni)-Laterite, Ruwai Fe-Pb-Zn-(Cu-Ag)-Skarn, Sebuku Island) as well as

• the development of more environmentally friendly recovery methods with higher recovery rates.

From the German perspective, the project is led by TU Bergakademie Freiberg (TUBAF), Helmoltz Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf (HZDR) and Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Ressource Technology (HiF)  and - in addition to Umwelt- und Ingenieurtechnik GmbH Dresden (UIT) - accompanied by UVR-FIA GmbH (UVR) and der Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) begleitet.

The Indonesian management is carried out by Gadjah Mada University in cooperation with the companies P.T. Sebuku Iron Lateritic Ores (SILO), P.T. Kapuas Prima Coal (KPC) as well as Energi Dan Sumber Daya Mineral (GA). The project is funded by CLIENT II.