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Nickel
Nickel is a hard, tough, malleable, ductile, lustrous, silver-grey
metal with a face-centered cubic crystalline structure. It is
ferromagnetic and has an electrical conductivity, which is about
one-six of that of copper.
Nickel may occasionally occur in the native state (it is found
in association with iron in many meteorites) but most of the
time it occurs combined with sulfur in millerite, with arsenic
in the mineral niccolite and with arsenic and sulphur in nickel
glance.
The most widely distributed mineral is pentlandite (Fe,Ni)9S8,
which is often associated with pyrrhotite FeS and Chalcopyrite
CuFeS2. The sulphide ores are easy to concentrate and account
for the major part of the nickel produced in Australia, Canada
and Siberia.
Lateritic oxide minerals are another majoir source of nickel.
They cannot be enriched, however, so the ores must be processed
in their original condition.
The cost of producing nickel from sulphide ores is higher, due
to the high cost of underground mining. On the other side, sulphide
ores contain more recoverable by-products, such as the platinum-group
metals, so they are less dependent on economic cycles.
Nickel can also be extracted from deep-sea-nodules, which may
contain up to 1,3% Ni.
About 65% of the nickel consumed in the Western World is used
to make austenitic stainless steel. Another 12% goes into superalloys
(metal mixtures designed to withstand extremely high temperatures
and/or pressures, or to have high electrical conductivity).
The remaining 23% of consumption is divided between alloy steels,
rechargeable batteries, catalysts and other chemicals, coinage,
foundry products, and plating. Divided nickel is a catalyst
for hydrogenating vegetable oils.
Links:
The Nickel Institute,
NIPERA-The
Nickel Producers Environmental Research Association
Nickel Mine Production
Metric tonnes
| |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
| West |
812,4 |
856,9 |
788,5 |
679,9 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Africa |
|
|
|
|
| Botswana |
24,4 |
23,9 |
26,7 |
31,0 |
| South Africa |
36,6 |
36,4 |
39,2 |
42,7 |
| Zimbabwe |
8,3 |
7,4 |
7,8 |
7,8 |
| Africa
total |
69,3 |
67,7 |
73,6 |
81,4 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| America |
|
|
|
|
| Brazil |
35,6 |
34,2 |
37,7 |
36,0 |
| Canada |
190,7 |
194,1 |
188,1 |
163,8 |
| Colombia |
58,9 |
53,0 |
58,2 |
70,8 |
| Dominican Republic |
27,8 |
22,3 |
23,5 |
27,4 |
| USA |
0,0 |
0,0 |
0,0 |
0,0 |
| Venezuela |
2,5 |
11,4 |
15,5 |
17,0 |
| America
total |
315,6 |
315,0 |
323,0 |
315,0 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Asia |
|
|
|
|
| Indonesia |
98,2 |
102,1 |
121,6 |
143,9 |
| Philippines |
20,2 |
23,1 |
24,1 |
23,4 |
| Asia
total |
118,4 |
125,2 |
145,7 |
168,0 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Europe |
|
|
|
|
| Finland |
3,3 |
2,7 |
2,5 |
2,7 |
| Greece |
19,5 |
20,8 |
22,7 |
21,4 |
| EU
total |
22,9 |
23,5 |
25,2 |
24,1 |
| Norway |
2,3 |
2,8 |
2,0 |
2,0 |
| Turkey |
0,0 |
0,0 |
0,0 |
0,7 |
| Europe
total |
25,2 |
26,3 |
27,2 |
24,1 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Oceania |
|
|
|
|
| Australia |
166,4 |
205,1 |
208,0 |
179,5 |
| New Caledonia (France) |
117,6 |
117,6 |
100,0 |
111,9 |
| total |
284,0 |
322,7 |
307,9 |
291,4 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| East |
361,0 |
367,5 |
369,9 |
384,4 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| China, P.R. |
51,0 |
51,5 |
54,6 |
60,8 |
| Cuba |
71,4 |
76,5 |
75,2 |
78,0 |
| Macedonia |
0,0 |
3,0 |
5,2 |
5,6 |
| Kazakhstan |
3,6 |
0,0 |
0,0 |
0,0 |
| Serbia |
0,0 |
0,0 |
0,0 |
0,0 |
| Ukraine |
0,0 |
1,5 |
0,0 |
0,0 |
| Russian Federation |
235,0 |
235,0 |
235,0 |
240,0 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| World
total |
1.173,5 |
1.224,4 |
1.247,4 |
1.264,3 |
Notes:
For the Dominican Republic figures refer to nickel content of
ferro-nickel
Source: International Nickel
Study Group (www.insg.org)
- INSG World Nickel Statsitics, May 2004
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