Nickel mine

A Nickel mine is a mine that produces nickel. Some mines produce nickel primarily, while some mines produce nickel as a side-product of some other metal that has a higher concentration in the ore.

Nickel mine at Hamn, Senja, Troms, Norway, 2014 August.jpg

Geology

Most of the world's nickel reserves are in form of lateritic nickel ore deposits.[1] Historically these were also the first source of commercially mined nickel sulphide ores, so that currently most of the nickel which has ever been produced came from nickel sulphide ores.

Recently more and more nickel sulphide deposits are being depleted, so new mines are again using nickel energy.

Strong weathering of ultramafic rocks at the earth’s surface in humid conditions causes nickel resources to form inside nickel laterites. Laterites are formed by the breakdown of minerals which then leach into groundwater, the left-over minerals join together to form the new mineral known as laterites. Nickel is turned into useable quality ore grade by being merged into the newly formed stable minerals.[2]

Exploitation

About 40% of the world’s nickel comes from exploitation of nickel laterites. There are two Hydrometallurgical methods to extract nickel and cobalt from nickel laterites, these processes are called sulphuric acid leaching and reduction roast-ammonia leaching. For high-magnesium silicates in lower profiles laterites the exploitation method used is smelting.[2]

Operations

Important nickel mine operators include Vale, Norilsk Nickel and Sherritt. Nickel mines coming online and going through ramp-up in the coming years include: Ravensthorpe (Australia),[3] Ambatovy (Madagascar), Goro (New Caledonia), Voisey Bay (Canada), Barro Alto (Brazil), Koniambo (New Caledonia) and Sotkamo (Finland).

Name of the mineOperations
Ravensthorpe mine (Australia)open-pit nickel laterite
Sotkamo mine (Finland)open-pit zinc sulphide-nickel-copper mine

Big players
  1. Norilsk Nickel is the world’s largest nickel ore producer, it runs most of its operations in Russia.

2. The Jinchuan Group[4] is China’s largest nickel ore producer. This is a big compay with 24 international locations.

3. BHP Billiton is Another large nickel mining company operating in over 25 international countries such Colombia and Australia

4. Sumitomo Metal mining Co. (SMM) is a large smelting, refining and mining company from Japan. They mainly operate out of the Philippines, Indonesia, New Caledonia and Japan.

5. Sherritt[5] is a mining and refining company from Canada that refines its nickel from lateritic ores. This company has operations worldwide in place like Canada, Cuba, Indonesia and Madagascar.[6]

Hazards

A study was conducted by scientists Dan et al on the effects of Nickel smelting fumes, to do this they did the study on NIH/3T3 cells and in the lung tissue of rats. They found that the fumes that the NIH/3T3 cells were transforming into malignant cells meaning that high exposure to Ni-smelting fumes may be harmful as Ni-smelting fumes may be a potential carcinogen in mammalian cells.[7]

Possible benefits

A study found that the Mount Keith Nickel Mine which is an open pit mine in Western Australia is sequestering[8] and storing large amounts of carbon dioxide through enhanced weathering of mineral waste, this means that this mean is offsetting approximately 11% of the annual greenhouse gas emissions released by this mine.[8]

Nickel mine pollution
Nickel Rim mine in Sudbury, Ontario

From 1953 to 1958 Nickel Rim mines operating around Sudbury, Ontario deposited their mine tailings in an impoundment near the mine. The water in the impoundment was later tested and found to have low pH and high concentrations of iron, sulphur and dissolved metals such as aluminum and nickel. This is due to the oxidation of the tailings (usually sulfide minerals like Pyrrhotite).[9]

The limited oxygen diffusing into the layers[10] causes the tailings oxidize for a longer period of time, for this reason the water at the impoundment is going to discharge water with high concentrations of iron and sulphate for at least the next 50 years.[11]

References
  1. Extractive Metallurgy of Nickel, Cobalt and Platinum Group Metals, Elsevier, pp. 553–558, 2011, doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-096809-4.10044-9, ISBN 978-0-08-096809-4, retrieved 2020-04-08 Missing or empty |title= (help); |chapter= ignored (help)
  2. Elias, Mick. "Nickel laterite deposits – geological overview, resources and exploitation". Research Gate.
  3. Pini, Barbara; Mayes, Robyn; McDonald, Paula (2010-09-01). "The emotional geography of a mine closure: a study of the Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Western Australia". Social & Cultural Geography. 11 (6): 559–574. doi:10.1080/14649365.2010.497850. ISSN 1464-9365.
  4. Li, X.; Wang, S. J.; Liu, T. Y.; Ma, F. S. (2004-12-01). "Engineering geology, ground surface movement and fissures induced by underground mining in the Jinchuan Nickel Mine". Engineering Geology. Engineering Geology in China. 76 (1): 93–107. doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.2004.06.008. ISSN 0013-7952.
  5. Plasket, R. P.; Romanchuk, S. (1978-03-01). "Recovery of nickel and copper from high-grade matte at Impala Platinum by the Sherritt process". Hydrometallurgy. 3 (2): 135–151. doi:10.1016/0304-386X(78)90016-6. ISSN 0304-386X.
  6. Balance, Full Bio Follow Linkedin Follow Twitter Terence Bell wrote about commodities investing for The; Earth, Has Over 10 Years Experience in the Rare; Bell, minor metal industries Read The Balance's editorial policies Terence. "The Biggest Nickel Producers". The Balance. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
  7. Han, Dan; Yang, Yue; Zhang, Lin; Wang, Chao; Wang, Yue; Tan, Wen‐Qiao; Hu, Xue‐Ying; Wu, Yong‐Hui (September 2016). "Nickel‐smelting fumes increased the expression of HIF‐1α through PI3K/ERK pathway in NIH/3T3 cells". Journal of Occupational Health. 58 (5): 413–424. doi:10.1539/joh.15-0287-OA. ISSN 1341-9145. PMC 5356975. PMID 27488040.
  8. Wilson, Siobhan A.; Harrison, Anna L.; Dipple, Gregory M.; Power, Ian M.; Barker, Shaun L. L.; Ulrich Mayer, K.; Fallon, Stewart J.; Raudsepp, Mati; Southam, Gordon (2014-06-01). "Offsetting of CO2 emissions by air capture in mine tailings at the Mount Keith Nickel Mine, Western Australia: Rates, controls and prospects for carbon neutral mining". International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control. 25: 121–140. doi:10.1016/j.ijggc.2014.04.002. hdl:10289/8967. ISSN 1750-5836.
  9. McGregor, R. G.; Blowes, D. W.; Jambor, J. L.; Robertson, W. D. (1998-12-01). "Mobilization and attenuation of heavy metals within a nickel mine tailings impoundment near Sudbury, Ontario, Canada". Environmental Geology. 36 (3): 305–319. doi:10.1007/s002540050346. ISSN 1432-0495.
  10. McGregor, R. G; Blowes, D. W (2002-10-01). "The physical, chemical and mineralogical properties of three cemented layers within sulfide-bearing mine tailings". Journal of Geochemical Exploration. 76 (3): 195–207. doi:10.1016/S0375-6742(02)00255-8. ISSN 0375-6742.
  11. Johnson, R.H; Blowes, D.W; Robertson, W.D; Jambor, J.L (January 2000). "The hydrogeochemistry of the Nickel Rim mine tailings impoundment, Sudbury, Ontario". Journal of Contaminant Hydrology. 41 (1–2): 49–80. Bibcode:2000JCHyd..41...49J. doi:10.1016/S0169-7722(99)00068-6.
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