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33063 
Journal Article 
Amax's Port Nickel refines the only pure nickel in the U.S 
Hoppe, RW 
1977 
0 
Mining and Engineering
ISSN: 0254-0304 
178 
5 
76-79 
The operation of the nickel refining plant of Port Nickel of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A., is described. Operating since 1974, annual production is scheduled at 80 million lb of pure nickel, 50 million lb of copper, 1 million lb of cobalt, and 100,000 tons of ammonium sulphate. The ore is shipped to Amax as either copper-nickel matte from Botswana, Africa, or as nickel matte from New Caledonia. At Port Nickel the ore is further processed by mainly hydrometallurgical processes including pressure leaching, atmospheric leaching, ion exchange, and electrowinning to produce copper, nickel, and cobalt metals. The process flowsheet is given.