Introduction
Nickel makes up 0.008% of the Earth's crust. When the deeper core of the Earth is included, nickel becomes more abundant, ranking as the fifth most common element after iron, oxygen, silicon and magnesium.
Nickel is economically extracted from deposits of nickel-bearing minerals in the Earth's crust, which, over geological time, have concentrated nickel into relatively small areas near to the surface in what are known as orebodies. Ore minerals are combinations of nickel and other elements, such as iron, sulphur, cobalt and oxygen, that can be extracted economically. Nickel ores are found in many countries, but the principal nickel mining areas are Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Greece, Indonesia, New Caledonia, Southern Africa and Russia. Important nickel refineries also operate in Norway, Finland, France, Japan and the United Kingdom.
A list of some of the world's major producers of nickel (which are also members of the Nickel Institute) is available here.
Nickel is of considerable economic and strategic importance to many countries, as can be appreciated from the wide diversity of end-use industries which it serves.
The International Nickel Study Group, based in The Hague, Netherlands, is an inter-governmental body which publishes monthly statistics on nickel supply and demand, and acts as a forum for the exchange of information and views on nickel trends. To meet the growing need for nickel-containing alloys and products, world production of nickel grew dramatically during the 20th century and currently stands at around 1 million tonnes per annum. It is also traded on the London Metal Exchange.
The world's producers sell
nickel in many forms, as sheets, powders, pellets, ingots, etc., to thousands of buyers. About 85% of this
nickel is used in combination with other metals to make what are known as alloys. These substances have their
own physical and mechanical properties which are distinct from those of their constituent elements.
Alloys that contain nickel include hundreds of different grades of stainless steels, hundreds of different
nickel alloys, many alloy steels, and a few copper-nickel alloys. About 65% of nickel is used to make
stainless steel, the most common grades of which contain 8% to 12% nickel.
Stainless steels have a total production volume
approaching 20 million tonnes per annum. This family of materials now consists of more than 100 separate
grades offering a wide range of attractive properties, which, in turn, results in even greater diversity of
use. As a result of new technology, the manufacture of stainless steel has become increasingly efficient
and economical, rendering it competitive with alternative materials.
The rise in the number of emerging applications of stainless steel, combined with its rapidly improving
price-competitiveness, largely accounts for a sustained underlying growth rate of some 5% to 6% per
annum for this material.
A list of some of the major nickel alloy and nickel stainless steel producers in the world is available here.
Non-alloy applications for nickel include various types of plating and chemical applications, notably batteries and catalysts.
