By:KellySnyderandPeterRussell
TheSudburynickelorewasdiscoveredwhitetheCanadianPacificRailroadwasbeingbuilt.
Nickel,symbolNi,isasilverywhite,magneticmetallicelementusedchieflyinmakingalloys.ThenamenickelcomesfromtheGermanword"kupfernickel"meaningDevil'scopperorStNicholas's(OldNick's)copper.
NickelwasusedbytheChineseinnaturallyoccuringnickel-copperalloysforovertwothousandyears,butwasnotrecognizedasanelementsubstanceuntil1751whenSwedishchemist,BaronAlexFredericConstedt,isolatedthemetalfromniccoliteore.Itwasnotuntil150yearslaterthatnickelwasfirstextractedonacommercialscale.
Nickelisfoundasaconstituentinmostmeteoritesandoftenservesasoneofthecriteriafordistinguishingameteoritefromotherearthlyminerals.Ironmeteorites,orsiderites,maycontainironalloyedwithfrom5%tonearly20%nickel.MeteoritesprovidedasourceofmetalforswordbladesusedbywarriorsinChina,PersiaandNorthernEurope.
Beautifulboxesandcandlesticksmadeofwhitecoppercalledpaktong(weremadeinChina)byaddingzinctowhatwenowknowasnicle-copperores.TheEastIndiaCompanybroughtitemssuchasthesecandlestickstoEuropeinthe17thand18thcenturies.
Nickelisferromagnetic,thatis,itisattractedtoapermanentmagnet.Ittakesahighpolish,anddoesnoteasilytarnishorrust.Nickelcanbehammeredintothinsheetsordrawnintowires.Onepound(0.4kilogram)ofpurenickelcouldbedrawnintoawire80miles(130kilometres)long.
CanadaisthelargestsupplierofnickelisCanadawithahugedepositofmixednickelandcoppersulphideinSudbury,Ontario.SimilardepositsarefoundinManitobaandVoisey'sBay,Labrador.OthercountrieswithsubstantialnickelproductionareRussia,Australia,NewCaledoniaandSouthAfrica.Somedepositsarenickel-containinglateriteore,withconsiderableamountsofironbutnocopper.Lateritesformbytheweatheringofsulphidedepositsinatropicalenvironment.
TheSudburybasinisoneoftherichestoredepositsintheworld.Initially,interestintheSudburyareawasstimulatedbythepresenceofhighgradecopperore.In1902theOrfordorganizationandtheCanadianCopperCompanyamalgamatedtoformtheInternationalNickelCompany(Inco),andby1905CanadahadreplacedNewCaledonia,asmallislandinthePacific,astheworld'sleadingsourceofnickel.CanadiannickeldepositswerefirstdiscoveredbyrailwayworkersbuildingtheCanadianPacificRailwaytrackswhentheycameuponacopper-richoutcropinSudbury,Ontario.Hordesofprospectorswereattracted,butmanyabandonedtheirclaimsuponfindingthatthecopperwasheavilycontaminatedwithnickel.Theoreisactuallyextremelyrichinothervaluableelementsincludingplatinum,palladium,iridium,rhodium,ruthenium,tellurium,selenium,cobalt,silverandgold.
In1918,therefiningofnickeltothefinishedmetalproductbeganinCanadawiththebuildingofInco'srefineryatPortColborne,Ontario,usinghydroelectricpowerfromNiagaraFalls.Unfortunately,theworldnickelmarketvirtuallycollapsedintheinterwaryears.WiththeoutbreakoftheSecondWorldWar,Sudbury'snickeldepositswereagainindemandandofgreatimportancetotheAlliedwareffort.Productionsoaredduringwartime.
MininginManitobabeganonacommercialscalewiththediscoveryoftheThompsonMineorebodyin1956.ThatdiscoveryledtoanagreementwiththeProvinceofManitobawhichwouldallowIncotomakewhatwasthenthelargestprivatecapitalinvestmentinManitobahistory;$175milliontobuildnotonlyamodernmineandplantsite,butalsotocreatetheinfrastructureforacommunity.Thatsameprojecttodaywouldcostmorethan$2billiondollars.
Fortheglobalnickelindustry,Voisey'sBayisoneofthemostexcitingdiscoveriesofrecenttimes.Inco'sexplorationprogramintheVoisey'sBayareacontinuestomoveforward.Thecompanyspentover$25millionin1997onexplorationinLabrador,andIncocontinuestobelievethattheywillfindatleast150milliontonnesofore.Oftheresourcesidentifiedtodate,thehigh-gradeOvoidorezoneoftheVoisey'sBaydepositcanbeeasilyaccessedbysurfacemining.Incoislookingforexplorationtargetswhichcanbeminedbysurfacemethodssincethecapitalandoperatingcostsassociatedwithundergroundminingaresignificantlyhigher.
Nickelisanessentialelementintoday'sindustrialeconomies,withbyfaritslargestuseasamajorcomponentofstainlesssteel.Unfortunatelylikeanumberofindispensablemetals,itiscostlytomineandprocess.InSeptember1999IncoannouncedplansfortheirGoroprojectinNewCaledoniaintheSouthPacific,aprojectthatcouldcontribute60millionpounds,andperhapsmore,ofnickelannually.Worldnickelproductionisforecasttogrowbyasmuchas30%overthenextfewyears.Therearemanyprojects,inAustralia,Indonesia,SouthAmericaandelsewhere,movingforwardtomeetdemand.
Thefirstpurenickelcoineverissuedwasa20centimepieceissuedinSwitzerlandin1881.
Inthepast50yearsCanadahasmaintaineddominanceintheareaofnickelproduction.TheUnitedStatesisCanada'slargestcustomerfornickel.AboutonethirdofthenickelminedinCanadaisrefinedintheUnitedKingdomandNorwayandissoldmainlytoWesternEuropeandtotheUnitedStates.
Incoisthelargestproducerofnickelintheworld.However,Incoalsobuysaconsiderableamountofnickelonworldmarketstomeetcustomers'needs.IncohelpedtocreatethenickelindustryinCanadanearly100yearsago.
Primarily,nickelisusedasanalloyingelement,beingacomponentinsome3000differentalloys.Historically,thefirstnickelalloysweretheresultofsmeltingimpureormixedores.Coinsproducedasearlyas235BCweremadefromacopper-nickelalloy.Cupro-nickelswith20to30%nickelandsometimesupto10percentironpossessausefulcombinationofstrength,ductilityandcorrosionresistance.
Mostnickelisusedinstainlesssteel,analloythatconsistsof8%nickel,18%chromiumand74%iron.Arecentlydevised'superalloy'isnickelaluminide;itissixtimesstrongerthanstainlesssteelandgetsevenstrongerathighertemperatures.Itwithstandstemperaturesupto1000degreesCelsius,whichmakesitusefulinhighperformancejetengines.
Nickelisacoinagemetal.InCanada,the10-cent,25-cent,50-centandoldonedollarcoinarepurenickel.Between1955-1981the5-centpiecewasalsopurenickel.Onecanusethesepurenickelcoinsforasimpleexperimentinferromagnetism.Pickupthecoinwithahorseshoemagnet.Ifyouheatupthatnickelinabunsenburnerflameto375degreesCelsius,nickellosesitsferro-magneticpropertyandfallsfromthemagnet.Uponcooling,itcanbeattractedtothemagnetagain.
Newresearchrevealsthatnickelmightbeessentialforgrowthinhigherplants.Beanplantsgrownwithoutnickelproduceddeformedleaflettips,becauseofabuild-upofurea.Nickelhelpstobreakdownureaatcertainstagesinthegrowthcycleofplants.Anickel-ironbatterydevelopedbyThomasEdisonin1907couldmakeacomebackinelectricallypoweredvehicles.Withanickelpositiveplateandironnegativeplate,thebatteryismuchlongerlastingthanbatteriescurrentlyinuse.
UsesforNickel:
- Additivein cast iron and steel
- Batteriesespecially advanced nickel-metal hydride or nickel-cadmium batteries for electric vehicles.
- Armour platingfor military vehicles
- Bronze for marine uses
- Catalystfor hydrogenating vegetable oils
- Coins
- Corrosion resistant alloys
- Drilling collars
- Electroplating
- Glass- produces a green colour
- Jet engines
- Measuring devices
- Offshore oil and gas rigs
- Pendulum rods
- Precision machine components
- Rolls Royce automobiles
- Sheet metal
- Silver-platedcutlery and table ware
- Stainless steel
- Tableware
- Tubing used in desalination plantsfor converting salt sea water into fresh water
- Turbine blades
- Watch hair springs
- Weighing machines
Theillustrations,includingthisoneof"TheBigNickel"inSudbury,Ontario,arefromInco'spublication"TheRomanceofNickel,"firstpublishedin1945.
