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Covering resources, production, uses, defense impact, and future outlook of nickle, Mining Engineering presents the third in a series of articles on strategic minerals. Preceding it are "Cobalt" in January and "Sulphur" in May.

Jan 8, 1951

By Paul D. Merica, O. B. J. Fraser

PROBABLY the first metallic objects used by man were nickel alloys. In search for flints suitable for the fashioning of their rude tools, our paleolithic ancestors, some 25,000 years ago, quite likely may have come upon some of those heavy, metallic fragments that we now know as meteorites, which consist of an alloy of nickel and iron containing usually from 5 to 15 pct of nickel. Whether paleolithic man ever did discover and use meteoritic fragments, his sketchy records do not actually disclose. We do know, however, that such fragments have been found and used by peoples, particularly the North American Eskimos, for weapons and implements in just the same manner as stones, and prior to any knowledge by those peoples of the reduction of metals from ores. Meteoritic showers were recorded frequently in earliest times and the meteorites often were found and fashioned into useful objects. The ancient Arabic and other myths of "invincible swords fallen from heaven" seem thus to have had a very definite basis in fact, and such weapons, of meteoritic material, have actually been re- covered from archeological excavations. It thus seems probable that meteoric nickel-iron was found and used long before iron was recovered by smelting iron ores (perhaps about 1200 B.C.) and probably even before there was knowledge and use of bronze and gold. Although many centuries were to pass before nickel was first isolated, in 1751, from Swedish ores and recognized as an elemental

Jan 1, 1953

By X. Shi

Magnesium, the lightest structural metal, has not yet been considered as a serious contestant for automotive use due to its weaknesses in corrosion. Electroless nickel-boron alloys are well known for their corrosion resistance and hardness. An electroless nickel-boron layer was successfully deposited first on the chemical conversion pre-treated AZ31 alloy and also on the Ni-P coating which was deposited on the conversion coating. The electroless bath contained nickel sulphate and dimethylamine borane (DMAB) as main salts and the samples were activated by a 5 g/L AgNO3 solution before the electroless plating process. The presence of the conversion coating between the nickel coating and the AZ31 substrate acted as a barrier and prevented corrosion of the alloy. The morphology of the nickel-boron layer was studied using SEM. The crystal structure and the composition were examined by EDS and the hardness was measured. The corrosion behaviour of the nickel-boron layer deposited on the conversion coating and on the Ni-P coating was studied using potentiodynamic polarization in a 0.5M NaC1 solution. A saturated standard calomel electrode was used as a reference electrode. The results show that the nickel-boron coatings had a significantly better corrosion resistance than the AZ31.

Jan 1, 2006

The nickel suppliers are hard at work across the entire spectrum of the industry-from exploration and mining on the one hand to the development of new applications of this unique metal on the other. The reason-a surging demand for nickel by the free world. Evidence of interest and activity in nickel abounds. Companies such as Anaconda, American Metal Climax, Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical, Patino, Newmont-firms that have not been in the nickel industry before-are now involved in various exploration and development ventures around the world. International Nickel, Falconbridge, Le Nickel and Sherritt Gordon-the big names in the industry -have committed vast sums of money and talent in a variety of new developments designed to ensure their status as leading producers of this commodity. As a result, the world is now seeing a rapid build- up in nickel capacity, and in this issue of [ ], the editors have prepared a summary of these fast- moving major developments.

Jan 10, 1968

By A. G. Cecutti

A brief overview of the known significant health effects of both Nickel and Cobalt will be presented. Some time will be given to the current research activities, especially for Nickel. Emphasis will be placed on some of the controversial issues associated with their health effects.

Jan 1, 1988

By D. L. Jones

CESL has developed a novel hydromctallurgical process for treating Cu and Ni sulphide concentrates, including bulk concentrates. Both Cu and I\i are leached efficiently into solution, using a proprietary pressure oxidation process, along with other base metals, notably Co. A previous publication has described the Cu recovery from a low grade bulk concentrate, Mesaba, using this CESL Process, including an extensive piloting campaign. Ni and Co recovery from the same solution was investigated at the time, but not finalized. This paper will describe the latest work at CESL on Ni and Co recovery from the same concentrate.

Jan 1, 2009

By J. R. Boldt, C. M. Kleemann, V. N. Mackiw, B. Meddings, J. A. MacLellan, E. J. Maney, D. E. Halter, D. J. I. Evans, J. Honkasalo, M. F. Dufour

The technology employed in the processing of nickel- and cobalt¬bearing ores is a continually developing process for utilizing the natu¬ral resources available at a given time. Most of the nickel-bearing ores of commercial importance fall under the category of sulfide or lateritic ores. While the occurrences of both types of ore have been known for over a century, until 1960 sulfide ores largely from Cana¬dian mines have constituted the chief source of production for com¬mercial nickel in the Free World. Sulfide ores are readily amenable to some physical means of concentration, but the lateritic ores are not readily concentrated, and to compete economically with the sulfide ores only the high-grade garnierite ores (a type of lateritic ore) found in New Caledonia were processed to any great extent up to the time of World War II. Around 1960, a gradual shift in emphasis towards latetitic ores as a commercial source of nickel became evident. See Fig. 1. New discoveries of sulfide ores, usually located underground, had not kept pace with the steadily increasing demand for nickel. The lateritic ores, found near the surface of the earth, could be readily surveyed and mined. Lower cost processes were being developed for the extrac¬tion of nickel from lateritic ores and for a time it appeared that, based on pre-OPEC economics, the lower grade lateritic ores-down to 1.2% nickel-could satisfy an increasing share of the world demand for nickel. The sharp increase in the price of crude oil in the 1970s, however, slapped an economic damper on the lateritic ores. Processes for treat¬ing lateritic ores consume large amounts of energy; as the nickel industry entered its deep recessionary period in 1981-83, nickel pro¬duction from lateritic ores became less and less profitable than from sulfide ores. At the same time, new sulfide ores were discovered and brought into production, notably in Australia and South Africa. The chapters in Section 17 were prepared in 1973. Recent improvements in mineral dressing techniques since then include Inco's pyrrhotite separation process which can remove additional pyrrhotite from nickel concentrates, resulting in reduced sulfur dioxide emission from the Sudbury smelter, by some 25%. The chapters in this section dealing with nickel are grouped in line with the two broad categories of nickel ores. Starting with the description of nickel and cobalt ores in Chapter 2, Chapter 3 deals with the processing of sulfide ores, and Chapter 4 deals largely with lateritic ores. The intermediate steps to produce a suitable feed for extraction plants and refineries are similar in principle within the same categories, although dissimilar between sulfide and lateritic ores. Thus Inco in Canada employs flotation and so does Western Mining Corp. in Australia, although Inco's plants were started before World War II, and that of Western Mining only recently in the late 1960s. Treatment subsequent to the ore dressing step, however, shows some interesting differences. The earlier parts deal mostly with established and conventional practices, leaning heavily on pyrometallurgy in both

Jan 1, 1985

By Rath M. C, Das R. P

Studies were carried out on dissolution and oxidation of iron powder in ammonia-ammonium carbonate solution using oxygen over pressures. Cobalt and nickel losses during iron oxidation under different conditions were investigated. Regression equations were derived for percent cobalt loss and percent iron oxidation using ammonia, ammonium carbonate and oxygen partial pressure as the variables. The equations were tested for adequacy using Fisher's test. Cobalt losses increased with the increase of initial cobalt concentration and about 400 mg/l of cobalt was lost from a solution containing 500 mg/l cobalt. A maximum of about 80 mg/l nickel was lost from 1 g/l nickel containing solution, and this loss remained the same even when the nickel concentration was increased to 7.5 g/l.

Jan 1, 1992

By Eddie C. Chou

Phelps Dodge, Inc. (PD) is currently developing a lateritic nicke/Vcobalt deposit in Madagascar. Hazen Research, Inc. provides technical assistance to PD to investigate recovery processes for nickel and cobalt. Various process options were evaluated in laboratory experiments and pilot plant operations. The process selected for the feasibility study consists of feed preparation, high-pressure acid leach, countercurrent decantation wash, sulfide precipitation, sulfide dissolution, solvent extraction, ion exchange, and electrowinning. Among these unit processes, high-pressure acid leach, sulfide precipitation, and sulfide dissolution are applications of pressure technologies. Process development work and design criteria for commercial operations of these unit processes are presented in this paper. Concerns related to scaling in the high-pressure acid leach and the sulfide precipitation processes are discussed. Corrosion of various metal coupons under these environments was examined.

Jan 1, 2000

By D. C. R. Espinosa, P. Aliprandini, F. P. C. Silvas, J. A. S. Tenório, M. M. Jiménez Correa

"Nickel ores are divided into two types: sulfide deposits and lateritic deposits. About 60% of nickel resources are found in laterite ore, while the remaining 40% is contained in sulfide ore. Laterite ore is usually processed via pyrometallurgical means or through hydrometallurgical techniques that include acid leaching and metal value recovery from solution. In this study, copper and nickel adsorption by Dowex M4195 ion exchange resin from an acidic sulfate liquor was investigated. The acidic sulfate liquor was collected from an atmospheric leaching process (AL) of laterite ore. Ion exchange experiments were conducted in a batch system by varying parameters such as pH, time, metal concentration and temperature. Initially, mono-elemental synthetic solutions of nickel and copper were used in the experiments and then a synthetic solution simulating AL liquor was tested. Test results showed that the resin exhibited high selectivity towards copper and nickel, however, a high concentration of iron in the synthetic AL solution interfered with the recovery of nickel and cobalt by the resin.INTRODUCTION Nickel is one of the most important industrial metals in the world. It is widely used in industrial applications, such as the production of stainless steel, magnets, electroplating and special alloys (Dizge et al., 2009). The main sources of industrial nickel production are sulphide deposits; only 40% of industrial production uses lateritic ores. However, it is estimated that 60% of global nickel resources are found in nickel laterite deposits (Kuck, 2016). Since industrial nickel demand continues to grow, the development of new technologies for the extraction of nickel from laterite ores has become an interesting research topic (Agatzini-Leonardou, 2009)."

Jan 1, 2017

A new technology for the treatment of copper nickel-containing concentrate after high-grade matte flotation to blister copper with the production of liquid silicate slags in a vertical autogenous unit with upper oxygen blow has been considered. The copper and nickel behavior in the process of sulphide copper concentrate interaction with silicate melt containing oxide copper has been studied. The general mechanisms of such interaction are found.

Jan 1, 2003

By L. Sh. Tsemekhman

A new technology for the treatment of copper nickel-containing concentrate after high-grade matte flotation to blister copper with the production of liquid silicate slags in a vertical autogenous unit with upper oxygen blow has been considered. The copper and nickel behavior in the process of sulphide copper concentrate interaction with silicate melt containing oxide copper has been studied. The general mechanisms of such interaction are found.

Jan 1, 2003

By I. Southern, S. Kelebek

"Smelting furnace bricks contain significant quantity of base metals trapped in refractory material. A series of flotation tests were carried out on samples of old bricks from Sudbury area to examine upgrading behaviour for recycling purposes. Depending on the grind size used nickel recoveries varied from 60 to 90.6% with corresponding grades of 20% and 14.7%Ni. There is a trade-off between nickel and copper. The nickel has responded well to fine grinding, however, the copper recovery suffered from it. Mineralogical characteristics and flotation behaviour of the brick material are discussed in reference to those from the primary ore. INTRODUCTIONMineral processing is well recognized as a mature technology not only for the mining industry, but also for the environmental industry for the purpose of remediation and recycling. Materials available for recycling are usually the products of many years ago. There are multiple stake holders in this area. In general, when the processing results in a product that can be reused or sold, the company carrying out the remediation makes a profit, while the regulators and the public are pleased due to a cleaner environment. From these points of view, there have been many papers published over the years on various mineral processing techniques applied to separation of many different materials including from mining and metallurgical industries (Wilson et al., 1994; Tsunekawa et al., 2005; Saikia et al., 2012).Flotation may be viewed as the backbone of the mining and metallurgical industry since its invention for separation of solids from one another almost a century ago. It is capable of recovering a variety of finely divided different solids following their liberation from each other. Its versatility and highly competitive nature in terms of cost per tonne of material processed, accounts for its occasional uses in the environment engineering area. In the mining industry, flotation is the standard method used for the sulphide ores. It can be applied as a bulk flotation and/or differential flotation. Bulk flotation, which refers to co-flotation of several components from their source, is most suitable for environmental cleanup objectives. Desulphurisation of various plant tailings is a typical example of this (Benzazzoua et al., 2000)."

Jan 1, 2012

By C. Landolt

Inco's Copper Cliff Smelter Complex produces some 11 5,000 tonnes per year of nickel and 120,000 tonnes per year of copper. The Smelter flowsheet has changed a number of times over the years. The most recent changes were effected in the mid-1980's in response to new realities in metal markets and heightened awareness about the workplace environment. By 1994, the flowsheet will undergo yet another metamorphosis as part of Inco's SO2 Abatement Program. The paper discusses the improvements implemented during the 1980's and projects the processing in the Smelter through 1994.

Jan 1, 1993

By A. J. WADHAMS

THE relative importance of things is a fascinating subject for thought. As we look about us we realize the Creator of all things has provided the metals for our use, each in the quantity needed-iron in vast quantities gold in small quantities. Had gold been given us in the quantities of iron, the mechanical age mould Eave been very different. You may find some pleasure in running over in your mind this question of the quantity available of an element and man's need of it in the scheme of things. Nickel in this sense is a middle group element. It was not essential to man's early development. Its usefulness dates back only about one hundred years. The quantity available to man has increased as his needs in- creased. On two occasions more nickel became available than was needed and on both of these occasions the ex- cess was soon absorbed by new and useful developments.

Jan 1, 1929

By C. A. Crawford

NICKEL and the nickel-copper alloy, the latter generally referred to as monel metal, are available in a variety of wrought and fabricated forms, of which the following are regular commercial products: [ ]

Jan 1, 1928

By C. A. Crawford

NICKEL and the nickel-copper alloy, the latter generally referred to as morel metal, are available in a variety of wrought and fabricated forums, of which the following are regular commercial products: Form Monel Metal Pure Nickel Roc Hot-rolled; round, hexagon, Same as morel metal square, and flat shapes Cold drawn; round, hexagon, square, and flat shapes Hot-rolled wire rod Cold-drawn wire rod Plates Hot-rolled Same as morel metal Sheets Hot-rolled annealed Same as morel metal Hot-rolled annealed, pickled Full-finished Full-finished, No. 3 grind one side Full-finished, No. 4 grind one side Cold-rolled (annealed) Cold-rolled, No. 5 polished finish Strip Hot-rolled (flat rods) Same as morel metal Cold-rolled (annealed) Cold-rolled (unannealed) Tubes and pipe Gas-welded tube Seamless tube Seamless tube in I. P. S. Gas-welded tube Forgings Bolts, rivets Same as morel metal Nuts and washers Forging to order Castings Sand castings Same as morel metal Centrifugal castings Electrolytic Cathodes of high purity Anodes Cast anodes Rolled anodes Shot and block for 25 to 50-1b. pigs 5, 25 and 50-1b. pigs melting. Shot Shot

Jan 1, 1927

By Robert J. McKay, F. P. Huston, WILLIAM G. HUMPTON

THE manufacture of nickel-clad steel plate and the fabrication of articles from it has progressed far enough to permit a general description of the working methods used. The manufacture of sheets made up of layers of nickel and steel is not new as a sheet of this character was patented in Germany in 1893. Present development differs mainly in the size and finish of the product. The earlier light-gage highly finished products have been limited in their application due to their similarity, in certain respects, to electro-plated and highly finished alloy sheets. The new product is a relatively heavy plate 1/4 or 3/s in. thick and heavier, with one side coated with nickel, the weight of nickel being of the order of 10 per cent of the whole. The finish is that of hot-rolled steel plate.

Jan 1, 1931

By Finley A. Campbell

"Nickel-copper sulphide deposits associated with basic rocks in the Quill Greek area and the White River area in the Yukon Territory have been studied and compared from the view-point of their general geology, structural geology, and the mineralogy of the ores. The relative amounts of the major constituents, magnesium, iron and calcium, and the minor constituents, nickel, cobalt and chromium have been determined spectrographically for two cross sections of the basic rocks at Quill Creek and one at White River. These data, along with petrologic and field evidence, were used to determine the sill and dyke-like character and nature of the basic intrusions. Loss on ignition is employed as a measure of the degree of serpentinization. The distribution determined shows that the serpentinization does not appear to have greatly influenced the inferred original distribution and lithophile associations of magnesium and nickel. The cobalt content may have been altered.The nickel content of the serpentinized peridotites ranges from an average of 0.36 per cent in one section to an average of 0.24 per cent in each of the other two sections studied. The cobalt averages 0.0038 per cent in the samples from the two Quill Creek sections and averages 0.0042 per cent at White River. These results have been compared with other available data.The sulphide ores are later than both the peridotite and gabbroic rocks and may be co-magmatic with them. There is no evidence in these areas to support an origin by lateral secretion; on the contrary, the alteration associated with the ores, the mineralogy and spatial relationship to basic and ultrabasic rocks, indicate the ores are derived from a basic magma."

Jan 1, 1960

By G. Troly, M. Esterle, B. Pelletier, W. Reibell

In New Caledonia, ultramafic formations occur on 7,000 square kilometers. Weathering of peridotites leads to profiles of alteration and nickel concentrations. Complete profiles are composed of two main groups of horizons: 1. Limonitic, mainly composed of iron hydroxides 2. Saprolitic, partly composed of magnesium and iron silicates Shape and mineralogical composition of saprolitic horizons are chiefly affected by the nature of the bedrock: types of peridotite and their degrees of serpentinization. On the other hand, morphology (plateau, terraces, slopes, piedmont) is an important factor. Ore-bodies are inside saprolites; their outlines are determined by the grade of nickel and tonnage economically mineable. Information about geology, morphology, geochemistry, and mineralogy are given in this paper.

Jan 1, 1979