Nickel Fact Sheet

• Introduction
• Occurence
• Australian Resources and Deposits
• Australia in the World
• Mining and Processing
• Production
• Uses
• Suggestions for Further Reading

Nickel (Ni) was first isolated as a distinct element in the middle of the 18th century, but at that time it had no apparent use. However, it is much in demand today. It is of primary importance in the manufacture of steel alloys and has played a major role in the development of the chemical and aerospace industries. It is a hard, silver-white metal with a high melting point, which at 1452°C is nearly as high as that for iron.

Australia has substantial nickel resources and is one of the world's major nickel producers. Most nickel products are exported, mainly to Europe, Japan and the United States, providing Australia with an important source of export income. The Australian nickel mining and processing industry also produces cobalt, copper, platinum, palladium and ammonium sulphate products.

The main ore of nickel in Australia (and in terms of worldwide production) is the primary sulphide mineral pentlandite (Fe, Ni)9S8, which occurs with pyrrhotite (FenSn+1), pyrite (FeS), and chalcopyrite (CuFeS₂) in lodes in mafic and ultramafic (iron and magnesium-rich) igneous rocks. In Australia, nickeliferous sulphide ores and their host rocks mainly form parts of ancient volcanic lavaflows. However, most of the world's known resources are contained in nickel-bearing laterites (such as in New Caledonia and Cuba) in minerals such as garnierite ((Ni, Mg)SiO3.nH₂O) and nickeliferous limonite which is nickel mixed with hydrated iron oxide. These are secondary minerals, derived by the weathering of nickel-bearing mafic and ultramafic rocks in tropical and subtropical climates and subsequently concentrated in the soil. The nickel grade of sulphide ore typically ranges from 1-4%, and that of lateritic ore from 1-2%.

Australia's nickel resources are assessed each year by Geoscience Australia (Australia's Identified Mineral Resources 2007). Most of Australia's identified nickel resources are contained in laterites (about 68%). Economic demonstrated resources ( i.e. those that have been sufficiently tested by drilling could be economically extracted at current prices with existing technology) total almost 20 million tonnes, and 79% of these are in laterite deposits.

Currently, all of Australia's nickel production is from Western Australia. Nickel sulphide deposits are mined by underground and open-cut methods in Western Australia at Kambalda, Leinster, Mt Keith, Silver Swan, Cosmos, Wannaway, Mittel, RAV8, Radio Hill and Emily Ann.

Western Mining Corporation Ltd (WMC) discovered the first known important economic concentration of nickel in Australia in 1966 at Kambalda, 50km south of Kalgoorlie. Further exploration led to the discovery of many more orebodies in the Kambalda region and the field now produces a significant share of mine output. Many of WMC's orebodies have been sold to other mining companies. These include Blair, Otter/Juan, McMahon, Long, Victor, 132 North, Wannaway, Miitel, Mariners and Redross.

WMC also produces nickel ore from the open-cut Harmony mine at Leinster and from a large open-cut mine at Mount Keith, both north of Kalgoorlie.

Outokumpu Oy and Mining Project Investors Pty Ltd started nickel production in May 1997 from the Silver Swan underground sulphide mine. Jubilee Mines N.L. commenced mining its Cosmos nickel deposit in 2000 and in 2001 LionOre Australia (Nickel) Ltd began operations at its Emily Ann project, located about 540kms east of Perth, an Mincor Resources from former WMC Long mine, near Kambalda.

The Queensland Nickel Joint Venture (QNJV) began production from the nickeliferous laterite deposit at Brolga, one of the Marlborough group of deposits, in 1993 but production ceased in 1995. Shortly before start-up of the Brolga mine, QNJV closed its Greenvale mine because there were no remaining resources.

In Western Australia, the advent of pressure acid leaching technology (PAL) has seen the introduction of lateritic nickel mining. Production from Cawse, Bulong and Murrin Murrin deposits all commenced in late 1998 or early 1999. Other deposits undergoing feasibility studies include lateritic deposits at Ravensthorpe and at Goongarrie in Western Australia, Marlborough in Queensland and Systerston in New South Wales. Other nickel deposits being evaluated include Yakabindie, Honeymoon Well, Sally Malay, Maggie Hays and Black Swan.

After mining, the sulphide ores are transported to a concentrator to upgrade their nickel content. The ores are first crushed and ground, liberating the sulphide minerals from worthless rock, or gangue. The sulphide minerals are then separated from the gangue, by flotation, and dried.

Ores mined at Kambalda grade about 3% nickel content and the concentrates produced after treatment grade around 11% nickel. By comparison, Leinster ores contain about 2% nickel and concentrates at 12% nickel. Mt Keith ore grades at 0.6% and concentrates at 20% nickel. Concentrates produced at all three centres are transported to the Kalgoorlie smelter for further processing. Half the Mt Keith concentrate is shipped direct to Finland for further processing.

Concentrates produced at RAV8 and Emily Ann are transported by road to Esperance for export and further treatment at Inco's smelter in Canada.

The extraction of nickel from lateritic ore containing 0.8% to 1% nickel, is complex with a number of process options available. The ore is subjected to high temperature pressure acid leaching followed by solvent extraction to yield nickel metal.

A nickel smelter operated by WMC located 15km south of Kalgoorlie has been in operation since 1972. The smelter, which incorporates an Outokumpu flash furnace, produces nickel matte (essentially a mixture of nickel and iron sulphides), usually containing 71-72% nickel and 5-6% copper. The nickel matte is produced in granulated form and railed to Kwinana either for feed to WMC's Kwinana refinery or for export.

The refinery was upgraded in 1993 and again in 1999 and the nickel concentrate treatment capacity of the smelter was increased to about 800,000 tonnes a year. Nickel in matte production capacity 140,000 tonnes a year. The additional capacity will enable the treatment of increased concentrate output from Leinster as well as output from Mount Keith as well as concentrates from third parties.

WMC's Kwinana nickel refinery commenced nickel production in 1970. The refining process uses a hydrometallurgical ammonia leach process. At the Kwinana refinery, nickel is leached from nickel matte by ammonia under pressure. The resulting nickel-bearing solution is treated with hydrogen sulphide to remove copper as copper sulphide and then with hydrogen gas under pressure to precipitate metallic nickel. Nickel and cobalt left in solution are finally precipitated by hydrogen sulphide as a mixed sulphide product. The remaining solution is rich in ammonium sulphate, which is crystallised for use as a fertiliser. Nickel powder is dried and sold as such, or after compaction and heating as sintered briquettes.

The Kwinana refinery's annual nickel production capacity has increased from 30,000 tonnes to 67,000 tonnes as part of a major upgrading program.

The Yabulu refinery operated by BHP Billiton treats lateritic nickel ore from New Caledonia and Indonesia. The Yabulu plant was commissioned in 1975. The ore is dried, ground, reduced and leached with ammonia. Nickel is precipitated as nickel carbonate, which is further treated to give a sinter of nickel and nickel oxide containing 85%, 88%, 98% or 99.5% Ni. An ammoniacal solvent extraction plant was installed in 1989 to assist separation of higher quality nickel and cobalt products.

More than 80% of the world's nickel production is used in alloys. When alloyed with other elements nickel imparts toughness, strength, resistance to corrosion, and various other electrical, magnetic and heat resistant properties. At least 3000 nickel alloys have been identified. About 60% of world nickel output is used in the manufacture of stainless steel. When nickel is added to stainless steels (a group of iron-based alloys containing chromium, carbon and other elements) their corrosion resistance and strength is considerably increased. Stainless steels containing nickel are therefore widely used in the chemical industry, consumer products (e.g. sinks, cooking utensils and cutlery), motor vehicles and construction.

A large number of other steels also contain nickel, particularly structural alloy steels used in pipelines, aircraft, vehicles and building. Many alloys, usually containing more than 50% nickel, have been developed for high temperature strength in aircraft gas turbines and jet engines. Nickel is an important constituent also of non-ferrous alloys used in corrosion-resistant fastenings, water pumps and shafts, and pipelines to carry seawater. Nickel has been widely used in coinage since 1860, when Belgium started minting coins comprising 75% copper and 25% nickel. Nickel is used also for electroplating, catalysing the addition of hydrogen to natural oils, (converting the oils into solids which can be used in soap and margarine) and in nickel-cadmium and nickel-iron storage batteries.

• Australia's Identified Mineral Resources 2007, Geoscience Australia, Canberra.
• Grimsey, E. S. & Neuss, I. (Eds) 1996 Nickel '96 Mineral to Market, The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Publication Series No 6/96.
• Hillier, G. 1976 Growth of the Australian nickel industry, Australian Mineral Industry Quarterly Review, 28(4), 99-113, Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics, Canberra.
• Berkman,D.A and Mackenzie,D.H. (Eds) 1998 Geology of Australian and Papua New Guinean Mineral Deposits, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Melbourne, Monograph 22, several papers.
• Marston, R.J. 1984 Nickel Mineralization in Western Australia, Geological Survey of Western Australia, Mineral Resources Bulletin 14.
• Pratt, R. 1996 Australia's Nickel Resources, Bureau of Resource Sciences, Canberra.
• Townsend, D.B., & Preston, W.A. 1991 Reported nickel resources of Western Australia as at December 1990, Geological Survey of Western Australia, Record 1991/9.
• Woodcock, J.T., & Hamilton, J.K. (Eds) 1993 Nickel-Cobalt in The Sir Maurice Mawby Memorial Volume, Chapter 15, 2nd Edition, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Melbourne, Monograph 19, pp 1173-1208.