About Nickel
Nickel Facts
- Nickel makes up 0.008% of the Earth's crust. When the deeper core of the Earth is included, nickel ranks as the fifth most common element
- It has been found in metallic artifacts dating back more than 2,000 years, officially identifed in 1751 by the Swedish chemist, Axel Cronstedt
- Nickel is mined from two main sources, magmatic nickel sulphide ores and nickel laterite ores
- The ore is treated to produce a nickel containing concentrate which is shipped to a smelter and then refined into pure nickel metal
Nickel Properties
- has a high melting point of 1453°C
- forms an adherent oxide film
- resists corrosion by alkalis
- is face-centred cubic, conferring ductility
- forms alloys readily, both as solute and solvent
- is ferromagnetic at room temperature
- is readily deposited by electroplating
- exhibits catalytic behaviour
Nickel Uses
The largest use of nickel alloys is in the area of corrosion prevention. The estimated annual cost of corrosion in the U.S.A. alone is $300 billion -- equivalent to 4% of gross national product!
- Catalyst - used in hydrogenation of vegetable oils, reforming of hydrocarbons, production of fertilisers, pesticides and fungicides
- Electroplating - provides corrosion resistance and decorative finishes to other metals and plastics
- Coatings - for high wear corrosion resistance in pumps and valves and computer hard disks
- Stainless Steel - 300 series austenitic grades contain 8-10% nickel by weight. Used ubiqitously in food processing, medical, transport, chemical processing and energy industries
- Copper-nickel alloys - Used in marine environments - desalination plants etc.
- Nickel-chromium alloys - high temperature applications such as heating elements, gas turbines
- Nickel-titanium alloys - shape memory, used in actutators, hydraulics and spectacle frames
- Batteries - nickel cadmium and nickel metal hydride batteries form the basis of most rechargeable batteries used in everything from cordless drills to laptop batteries
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Headline News
- First nickel concentrate shipped
- Hitura nickel mine starts production
- 147,000 oz's gold delineated at K1 occurence at Kiimala
- Resource definition drilling starts on Kopsa gold property
- current gold resource inventory increased to 550,000 oz's
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Finland is ranked number one mining destination in the world
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