Abstract:Selective leaching of nickel and cobalt from limonitic laterite ores after activation pretreatment was studied. The effects of temperature, duration, L/S, stirring speed and sodium fluoride addition on metals extraction were investigated. Ni and Co extraction rate is 85.62% and 94.26% respectively under the optimum conditions including temperature of 85 ℃, duration of 3 h, L/S=5︰1(mL/g), stirring speed of 400 r/min, and NaF dosage of 4%. Iron comes into residue in form of sodium jarosite with leaching rate of only 2.43%. Selective leaching of nickel, cobalt and iron can be efficiently achieved by activation pretreatment of limonitic laterite ores.