US EPA

6890252 

Journal Article 

Magnola - An innovative process for magnesium production 

Celik, C; Peacey, J; Bishop, G; White, C; Giasson, E; Avedesian, M; , 

1997 

INST MATERIALS 

LONDON 

19-31 

WOS:A1997BJ62T00003 

The Magnola process produces magnesium metal using serpentine tailings as the raw material source. These mining residues, containing up to 24% by wt Mg, have accumulated over decades of mining the serpentine ore for asbestos fibres. The tailings are leached with HCl, then neutralised to separate the Si/Fe leach cake residue. The brine purification is followed by ion exchange to remove Ni and B. The resulting high purity brine is then partially dehydrated in a fluidised bed spray dryer to produce MgCl2,xH(2)O prills. These prills are then fed to a super-chlorinator which further eliminates water and reduces the MgO content to less than 0.1% by wt. The anhydrous MgCl2 is subsequently fed to an Alcan multi-polar cell to produce Mg metal. The Cl-2 from the cell is recycled as HCl to the leach. This process has been under development since 1986. Presently, a fully integrated pilot plant is under construction for operation in mid-1996. This paper will discuss the current status of the Magnola technology and the piloting effort which is currently underway. 

Lorimer, GW; 

1-86125-013-4 

3rd International Magnesium Conference 

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND