Leaching of Nickel and Iron from Nigerian laterite

Laterite ore is one of the mineral resources containing several kinds of metal elements, such as nickel, cobalt, iron, silicon, aluminum and chromium. It is widely distributed in all the geopolitical zones in Nigeria, and is mainly used for building in the ancient times. However, the utilization is limited in the country today. Although several awareness and research work has been made in the use of laterite in addition with other materials for building low cost housing in the country, little or nothing has been done as regards leaching of these aforementioned elements which can boost industrialisation in the country. The need to boost the gross domestic product (GDP) beyond crude oil is of great importance.