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Occurrence and Production of Nickel
Occurrence
The bulk of the nickel mined comes from two types of ore deposits. The first are laterites where the principal ore minerals are nickeliferous limonite: (Fe, Ni)O(OH) and garnierite (a hydrous nickel silicate): (Ni, Mg)3Si2O5(OH). The second are magmatic sulfide deposits where the principal ore mineral is pentlandite: (Ni, Fe)9S8.
In terms of supply, the Sudbury region of Ontario, Canada, produces about 30 percent of the world's supply of nickel. The Sudbury Basin deposit is theorized to have been created by a massive meteorite impact event early in the geologic history of Earth. Russia contains about 40% of the world's known resources at the massive Norilsk deposit in Siberia. The Russian mining company MMC Norilsk Nickel mines this for the world market, as well as the associated palladium. Other major deposits of nickel are found in New Caledonia, Australia, Cuba, and Indonesia. The deposits in tropical areas are typically laterites which are produced by the intense weathering of ultramafic igneous rocks and the resulting secondary concentration of nickel bearing oxide and silicate minerals. A recent development has been the exploitation of a deposit in western Turkey, especially convenient for European smelters, steelmakers and factories. The one locality in the United States where nickel is commercially mined is Riddle, Oregon, where several square miles of nickel-bearing garnierite surface deposits are located.
Based on geophysical evidence, most of the nickel on Earth is postulated to be concentrated in the Earth's core.