grade nickel ore (about % NiO) with Fe 2 O 3 (74%) as the most abundant constituent. The ore was upgraded through physical beneficiation processes, namely gravimetric and magnetic separations. The received samples were homogenized, crushed to 8 mm and the product was sieved following the wet sieving procedure to obtain four size fractions, −8+4 mm, −4+1 mm, −1+ mm and −0 ...