Separation of nickel from copper

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR TREATING BENEFICIATED ORES AND/OR ORE CONCENTRATES CONTAINING NICKELFEROUS SULFIDE MINERALS AND CUPRIFEROUS SULFIDE MINERALS BOTH OF WHICH ARE ASSOCIATED WITH IRON SULFIDES CORRESPONDING TO THE FORMULA FEXSX+1 WHEREIN X IS A WHOLE NUMBER GREATER THAN 1, WHEREIN THE MINERAL TREATED CONTAINS AT LEAST 5% BY WEIGHT OF PYRRHOTITE AND THE NICKEL AND COPPER ASSOCIATED WITH THE PYRRHOITITE ARE PREDOMINANTLY PRESENT IN THE FORM OF PENTLANDITE AND CHALCOPYRITE, TO SEPARATE NICKEL VALUES FROM COPPER SULFIDE MINERALS, WHICH PROCESS COMPRISES: ESTABLISHING IN AN AUTOCLAVE AN AQUEOUS SLURRY OF SAID ORES AND/OR ORE CONCENTRATES, ESTABLISHING A FREE-OXYGENCONTAINING ATMOSPHERE HAVING AN OXYGEN PARTIAL PRESSURE OF AT LEAST ABOUT 3 ATMOSPHERES OVER THE SLURRY, MAINTAINING THE SLURRY AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN ABOUT 80* AND 110*C., VIGOROUSLY AGITATING THE SLURRY TO MAINTAIN A UNIFORM DISPERSION OF SOLIDS THEREIN, TO MAXIMIZE OXYGEN TRANSFER INTO THE AQUEOUS SLURRY FROM THE ATMOSPHERE, TO SELECTIVELY CONVERT IRON SULFIDES TO ELEMENTAL SULFUR AND IRON HYDROXIDE AND THE NICKELIFEROUS SULFIDE MINERALS TO NICKEL SULFATE WHICH ARE DISSOLVED IN THE AQUEOUS SLURRY TO PROVIDE A NICKEL SULFATE SOLUTION BY OXIDATION REACTIONS, TERMINATING THE OXIDATION REACTIONS AFTER A PREPONDERANT PART OF THE IRON SULFIDES AND THE NICKELIFEROUS SULFIDE MINERALS HAVE BEEN OXIDIZED, THE CUPRIFEROUS SULFIDE MINERALS REMAINING SUBSTANTIALLY UNOXIDIZED, RECOVERING THE NICKEL FROM THE NICKEL SULFATE SOLUTION, AND RECOVERING THE UNOXIDIZED CUPRIFEROUS SULFIDE MINERALS TO PROVIDE A HIGH GRADE CUPRIFEROUS SULFIDE MINERAL CONCENTRATE.