Nickel
- Nickel is one of the more common elements in the composition of the earth, but it is sparingly distributed in the earth's crust. In 1897 nickel-bearing minerals were noted in the gold-rich veins in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia. In 1966 Western Mining Corporation (WMC) discovered the first known important economic concentration of nickel in Australia at Kambalda. Between 1967-71, Western Australia experienced a nickel boom with a major world nickel province discovered between Norseman and Wiluna. In 1970 WMC opened a nickel smelter at Kalgoorlie and in 1995 opened their Mt Keith nickel mine. Anaconda's Murrin Murrin mine produced its first nickel and cobalt output from laterite deposits in 1999.
- Nickel is mined by both open cut and underground methods. If an ore deposit occurs not far beneath the earth's surface it can be extracted using the open cut method of mining. Deeper sulphide deposits must be of higher grade to warrant the additional cost of underground mining. After mining, the ore is transported to a concentrator to upgrade the nickel content.
- When alloyed with other elements nickel imparts toughness, strength, resistance to corrosion, and various other electrical, magnetic, and heat resistant properties. About 60% of world nickel output is used in the manufacture of stainless steel. When nickel is added to stainless steels their corrosion resistance and strength is considerably increased. Nickel is also used in armour plating, gun forgings, shells and bullets.
- The value of nickel experienced a spectacular increase in 2007, recording a rise of 19 per cent to almost $7 billion
- Nickel is the third most valuable commodity in Western Australia, after petroleum and iron ore.
To download a copy of the Nickel fact sheet click here.
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| Major Mineral and Petroleum Projects in Western Australia (530.84 KB .pdf) |
