ISE - Nickel - Production, Occurrence, Use

Nickel occurs in nature mainly as oxides, sulfides and silicates. Nickel is the fifth most abundant element of the earth with the highest concentrations in the nucleus and the lowest concentrations in the earth's crust. Nickel ores are mined in 33 countries on all continents and are prevented or refined in 30 countries.

Primary nickel is produced and used in the form of ferro-nickel, nickel oxides, NPI, nickel sulfate and other chemicals as well as more or less pure nickel metal. Nickel is easily recycled in many of its uses and large amounts of secondary or "scrap" nickel are used to supplement newly mined ores.

Nickel properties

The nickel isotopes

Extraction of nickel

short version

The large-scale production of nickel is similar to that of Copper, First, the pre-roasted material (a mixture of NiS, Cu₂S, Fe₂O₃ and FeS) with coke and SiO₂melted, wherein the iron oxide drains off as iron silicate slag. The remaining liquid copper-nickel rough stone (melt of NiS, Cu₂S and FeS) is regularly tapped off and freed of iron in a converter (oxidation of the iron sulfide, FeS, by injected air with subsequent slagging with SiO 2₂, What remains is the iron-free copper-nickel fine stone, a mixture of Cu₂S and 20% NiS.

nickel production

1.Flotation

The majority of nickel is obtained from iron ores containing nickel and copper, such as magnetic nickel gravel. In order to make extraction economical, the nickel must first be enriched to a nickel content of around five percent by flotation. Flotation (from English to float - to swim) is a physico-chemical separation process for fine-grain solids due to the different surface wettability of the particles. The process takes place in a liquid, often water, and with a supply of gas, often air. According to the definition according to VDMA standard sheet 24430, this is a separation process in which substances dispersed or suspended in water are transported to the surface of the water by adhering gas bubbles and removed there with a clearing device.

2. Roast

Then the ore is roasted similar to the copper production. Here, the ore is first pre-roasted to convert a portion of the iron sulfide into iron oxide. Subsequently, silicates and coke are added to slag the iron oxide as iron silicate. At the same time, the copper-nickel raw stone is formed from nickel, copper and iron sulphide. Since this is specifically heavier than the iron silicate slag, the two phases can be tapped separately.

Roasting or roasting in metallurgy refers to the treatment of sulfur, antimony and arsenic ores by heating in roasting ovens. This produces roasting gases such as sulfur dioxide and arsenic trioxide (smoldering tobacco). Further metal oxides resulting from the oxidation process are subjected to a reducing treatment step.

Subsequently, the rough stone is filled in a converter and silica is added. It is injected with oxygen. As a result, the remaining iron sulfide is roasted to iron oxide and then scrubbed. The result is the Copper-nickel-Feinsteinwhich consists of about 80% copper and nickel and about 20% sulfur.

3. Separating the Rohnickels

To recover the Rohnickels the nickel must be separated from the copper. For this, the fine stone is fused with sodium sulfide Na₂In this case, only a slight melting double sulfide forms between copper and sodium sulfide. Two easy-to-separate phases of copper-sodium double sulfide (liquid) and nickel sulfide are formed. After separation, the nickel sulfide is roasted to nickel oxide and then reduced to nickel with coke.

4. Production of pure nickel

In order to obtain pure nickel, the raw nickel is electrolytically refined. For this purpose, the raw nickel is connected as the anode and a thin sheet of nickel as the cathode in an electrolysis cell. A nickel salt solution is used as the electrolyte. During the electrolysis, nickel and all the less noble components dissolve at the anode. All the more noble components remain solid and fall under the electrode as anode sludge. This serves as an important source for the production of precious metals such as gold or platinum. At the cathode, nickel ions are reduced from the solution to nickel, all less noble components remain in solution. The purity of electrolyte nickel is around 99,9%.

For the extraction of pure nickel with a purity of 99,99% there is a special process called the moon process, named after Ludwig Mond, who discovered nickel tetracarbonyl in 1890. This process is based on the formation and decomposition of nickel tetracarbonyl. For this purpose, finely divided raw nickel powder is placed in a stream of carbon monoxide at 80 ° C. Gaseous nickel tetracarbonyl is thereby formed. This is freed from fly dust and fed into a decomposition chamber at 180 ° C. There are small nickel balls inside. On these, the nickel tetracarbonyl decomposes again to nickel and carbon monoxide. This results in very pure nickel.

5. Production of high purity nickel

The moon process, named after Ludwig Mond, was developed for the purification of the metal nickel. It is based on a chemical transport reaction.

In the general case, a solid (or, more rarely, liquid) substance is reacted at a certain temperature with a gaseous transport medium and converted into an equally gaseous product (gas-phase complex). This product is then transferred elsewhere and at a different temperature by reverse reaction in the now much purer material and the transport back. It makes use of the fact that the chemical equilibrium depends on the temperature.

Use of nickel

Nickel is needed as metal in small quantities, most of the production goes into the production of stainless steels and nickel alloys. Nickel is used in many specific and identifiable industrial and consumer goods, including stainless steel, Alnico magnets, coins, rechargeable batteries, electric guitar strings, microphone capsules, plating on plumbing fixtures, and special alloys such as Permalloy, Elinvar, and Invar. It is used for coating and as a tint in glass. The reserves of nickel deposits depleted from today's point of view lie between 70 and 170 million tons. Currently, more than one million tonnes of oil are produced worldwide every year (2006: 1,340 million tonnes). The price of nickel is at times subject to very high price fluctuations due to financial market speculation.

1. Nickel use as metal

Pure nickel metal is used in finely divided form as a catalyst in the hydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids. Due to its chemical resistance, nickel is used for apparatus in chemical laboratories and the chemical industry (e.g. nickel crucibles for digestions). Nickel alloys, e.g. B. for coins.

Nickel serves as a coating metal for the corrosion protection ("nickel plating") of metal objects: Because of its oxidation-protective properties, metals (in particular iron) are coated with a nickel layer for certain technical purposes by means of galvanic technology.

The metal was also used earlier to make the frames of nickel goggles.

As a beta emitter is the nickel isotope ⁶³Ni used in electron capture detectors in gas chromatographs.

2. Nickel use in alloys

Nickel is an important alloy metal that is mainly used for steel finishing. Most of the nickel goes there. It makes steel resistant to corrosion and increases its hardness, toughness and ductility. Steels high-alloyed with nickel are used in particularly corrosive environments. The stainless steel V2A (the name comes from the "test batch 2 austenitic" in the Krupp steelworks, corresponds to X12CrNi18-8) contains 8% nickel in addition to 18% chromium, V4A (brand names Cromargan or Nirosta) 11% in addition to 18% chromium and 2% molybdenum.

Nickel is an excellent alloying agent for certain precious metals and is used in the fire test as a collector of platinum group elements. As such, nickel is capable of fully collecting all six platinum group elements, especially platinum and palladium, from ores and partially collecting gold.

Nickel foam or nickel mesh is used in gas diffusion electrodes for alkaline fuel cells.

Nickel and its alloys are often used as catalysts for hydrogenation reactions. Raney nickel, a finely divided nickel-aluminum alloy, is a common form, although related catalysts are also used, including Raney type catalysts.

About 20% of nickel is used (in Germany) for the production of other nickel alloys:

• Constantan, an alloy of 55% copper and 45% nickel, which has an almost constant specific electrical resistance over a wide temperature range. It is mainly used for precise resistances.
• Nickel-base superalloys are alloys especially for use at high temperatures and under corrosive media. They are used, for example, in aircraft turbines and gas turbines of power plants.
• Raney nickel, a nickel-aluminum alloy that is an important catalyst for the hydrogenation of organic compounds.
• Nickel silver, a copper-nickel-zinc alloy with 10–26% nickel, which is particularly corrosion-resistant and is mainly used for cutlery and electrical equipment.
• Monel, also a copper-nickel alloy with around 65% nickel, 33% copper and 2% iron, which is characterized by its special chemical resistance, including to fluorine. It is therefore used for fluorine pressurized gas cylinders.
• Austenitic cast iron with spheroidal graphite, a spherulitic special cast iron with up to 20% nickel, for use in corrosive environments and at high temperatures.

World production and reserves of nickel

The reserves for Brazil, China, Colombia, Indonesia and the United States have been revised based on new information from corporate or government reports.

Identified land-based resources with an average nickel content of 1% or more contain at least 130 million tonnes of nickel, of which about 60% in laterites and 40% in sulphide deposits. Extensive nickel resources are also found in manganese crusts and tubers on the seabed. The decline in the discovery of new sulphide deposits in traditional mining areas has led to exploration at more demanding locations such as East Central Africa and the Southern Arctic.

Substitutes: Stainless steels with a low nickel, duplex or maximum chromium content are being replaced by austenitic grades in construction. Nickel-free special steels are sometimes used instead of stainless steel in the power generation and petrochemical industries. Titanium alloys can replace nickel metal or nickel base alloys in corrosive chemical environments. In certain applications, lithium-ion batteries can be used instead of nickel-metal hydride batteries.

Nickel recycling

The recycling of metals such as nickel creates win-win scenarios for the environment and industry. It is an integral part of the metal industry; Metals are recycled for their value and because most can be recycled without loss of quality. This is especially true for non-ferrous metals such as nickel.
As recyclable metals are evaluated, there is an infrastructure for their collection and processing. Although society today probably perceives metal recycling as an environmental activity, it has existed for thousands of years as an independent profitable business sector. In most countries, the economics of collecting, sorting, processing, transporting and using scrap metal occupy more people and is of greater economic importance than the mining and refining of ores.

Nickel and nickel-containing alloys can be restored to their original state or made into another, yet valuable, form. Examples are nickel-containing stainless steel scrap processed into new stainless steel or nickel from recycled batteries used for nickel-containing stainless steels.

Around 68% of nickel available from consumer products is recycled and begins a new life cycle (reference year 2010); another 15% enter the carbon steel cycle. However, around 17% still end up at the landfill, especially in metalware and WEEE.
Recycling is an important factor in the life cycle of nickel and an important contribution to global sustainability. Nickel-containing products, such as stainless steel, are durable and designed for long-term use. Demand for recycled nickel is rising; it is part of the solution as a supplement to primary production.

Source: Nickel Institute

Explanation of the metal industry on recycling principles

“In 2006, the metal industry published a statement on the principles of recycling. The declaration, signed by 18 metal commodities associations, including the Nickel Institute, aims to encourage policymakers, designers and manufacturers to use life cycle thinking when developing metal recycling strategies.

Many metals can be recycled endlessly without loss of properties. To date, the content of recycled metals and alloys in products has been used as a driver for increasing recycling rates and as an indicator of environmental performance. However, such an approach could promote inefficiencies in the production and use of recycled metals; the declaration shows that the recycled material content of a product does not take into account the environmental costs and benefits associated with achieving that objective.

The use of the recycled content approach can increase the overall economic and environmental costs, as the metal available for recycling is redirected to produce a particular product and not to where the recycling cycle is more economical or more environmentally friendly. The aim should be to promote eco-efficiency in the use of metals while maximizing economic benefits for society.

A life cycle approach that takes into account the material flows at the end of the product life cycle is preferable; this enables the most accurate assessment possible of the ecological and economic effects aimed at increasing recycling. Such an approach enables decision-makers to identify inefficiencies and the associated environmental impacts as well as to optimize product recovery and material recycling capabilities. "

Nickel in a circular economy

The concept of a circular economy is generally understood as “a regenerative system in which the use of resources and waste, emissions and energy losses are minimized by slowing down, closing and narrowing energy and material cycles. This can be achieved through durable design, maintenance, repair, reuse, reconditioning, refurbishment, refurbishment and recycling. This is in contrast to a linear economy, which is a "take, make, dispose" model of production.

Due to their excellent properties and high recycling efficiency, nickel and nickel-containing stainless steel show how primary materials can contribute to a circular economy. As nickel improves corrosion resistance, the product will last longer and require less maintenance. Its high value makes the repair and reuse of nickel-containing products economically attractive. The high level of recycling efficiency ensures that nickel will re-enter the economy after the end of the life of nickel-containing products.

The largest nickel producers

1. Voucher

Vale SA, formerly Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, is one of the three largest mining companies in the world, alongside the Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton.

Vale is the world's largest producer of nickel. Vale operates nickel mines and activities in Brazil, Canada, Indonesia and New Caledonia, as well as wholly owned refineries and joint ventures in China, South Korea, Japan, the UK and Taiwan. Vale has a wide range of products that are able to meet the diverse needs of nickel consumers. The regional sales offices serve customers all over the world directly.

Vale was on 1. June 1942 founded. She was on 26. October 1943 at the Rio de Janeiro Stock Exchange, on 04. April 1968 at the São Paulo Stock Exchange (BOVESPA), on the 8. February 2000 at Latibex, a Latin American securities exchange based in Madrid, on 20. June 2000 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and 18. July 2008 listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris.

In December 2017, Vale announced its migration to Novo Mercado, a special listing segment of B3 SA - Bolsa, Balcão, Brazil, Novo Mercado, which has a high standard of corporate governance. The listing in this particular segment includes the adoption of a number of corporate and governance rules and improves the disclosure of guidelines as well as the existence of transparency, monitoring and control structures.

Around 220.000 shareholders from all continents brought Vale 2018 the second largest sales on the New York Stock Exchange. With sales of 34,1 billion dollars, with a profit of 4,6 billion USD, Vale stands according to the Forbes Global 2000 on place 132 of the world largest enterprises (conditions: financial year 2018). The company came in the middle of 2018 on a stock market value of about 77 billion USD.

2. Nornickel or Norilsk Nickel

Nornickel (Russian Норникель, to 2016: Norilsk Nickel) is a company from Russia with headquarters in Moscow. The company is listed in the RTS Index on the Russian Trading System and on the NASDAQ. According to its own statements, the company contributes 1,5% of the Russian gross domestic product.

The core businesses of the Nornickel Group are the extraction, exploration, mining, concentration and processing of minerals as well as the production, marketing and distribution of non-ferrous and precious metals. The products are delivered in over 30 countries.
The Group's production units are located in Russia (Norilsk Industrial Park, Kola Peninsula and Trans-Baikal Territory), Finland, Australia and South Africa.
The Polar Division lies beyond the Arctic Circle on the Taimyr peninsula and is the most important resource base of Nornickel.

In addition to the production facilities, the company has its own distribution network, fuel and energy companies, transportation, a number of research and development units and a unique Arctic cargo fleet.
The securities of the Company are among the most liquid instruments on the domestic and foreign stock markets. In Russia, MMC Norilsk Nickel shares are listed on the Moscow Stock Exchange's First Level List and admitted to trading on the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange. Their ADRs are traded on the US OTC market and in the electronic trading system of OTC markets on the London, Berlin and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges. The ADRs of the Company are also included in the FTSE Russia IOB Index of the London Stock Exchange.

Nornickel is the world's leading nickel and palladium promoter. In addition, the company, in conjunction with its subsidiary Stillwater Mining Company (Denver, Colorado) ranked among the four largest platinum producers and is one of the ten largest copper producers in the world. In addition, nornickel promotes cobalt, rhodium, silver, gold, tellurium, selenium, iridium, ruthenium and carbon.

3 Glencore

Glencore plc is the world's largest commodity trading group. Its operational headquarters are in Baar, Switzerland. The Group was fully privately owned by management and key personnel by May of May 2011. Since its IPO on the London Stock Exchange 2011, Glencore shares have been publicly traded. Glencore is a member of the UK's leading index FTSE 100.

Glencore is a leading manufacturer and marketer of nickel with locations in Australia, Canada and Europe. Glencore produces some of the purest nickel alloys in the world - and is also one of the largest recyclers and processors of nickel-containing materials, including batteries. Glencore's distribution business includes nickel metal, concentrates, intermediates and ferronickel.
Other metals are produced as a by-product of nickel production, including cobalt, copper, precious metals and platinum group metals.

Glencore plc is the world's largest commodity trading group. Its operational headquarters are in Baar, Switzerland. The Group was fully privately owned by management and key personnel by May of May 2011. Since its IPO on the London Stock Exchange 2011, Glencore shares have been publicly traded. Glencore is a member of the UK's leading index FTSE 100.

In terms of sales, Glencore is the largest Swiss company before Vitol. Directly or indirectly, 62.000 employees are employed by 60.000 at 19 sites in 12 countries; 2.000 employees in 40 countries are responsible for marketing.

With a turnover of 205,4 billion US dollars, with a profit of 5,8 billion USD, Glencore stands according to the Forbes Global 2000 on place 64 of the world largest enterprises (conditions: year 2018). The company came into 2018 at the beginning of a market capitalization of approximately 76 billion USD.

4 BHP Billiton

The BHP Group, until November 18, 2018 BHP Billiton, is an Australian-British raw materials group under the publicly used company name "BHP" and is one of the world's three largest mining companies with Vale and Rio Tinto Group.

BHP is a leading global resource company. BHP extracts and processes minerals, oil and gas with more than 72.000 employees and contractors, especially in Australia and America. The products are sold worldwide, with sales and marketing conducted via Singapore and Houston, USA. Its global headquarters are in Melbourne, Australia.

BHP operates under a dual-list company structure with two parent companies (BHP Group Limited and BHP Group Plc) operating as if they were a single entity called the BHP. BHP is headed by a single board and management.

BH promotes nickel in Australia. Nickel West is a fully integrated mine-to-market nickel company with over 3500 employees and contractors. All nickel activities (open-pit and underground mines, concentrators, smelters and refineries) are located in Western Australia. The integrated business adds value throughout the nickel value chain, with most of the current production of Nickel West sold as powder and briquettes.

5 Anglo American

Anglo American is a global group engaged in mining and processing of raw materials. The company is headquartered in London and Johannesburg and is headquartered in London.

The company employs approximately 69.000 employees and generates annual revenues of approximately 28 billion US dollars. The mining sector is the core business of Anglo American before metal finishing.

Anglo American plc. Extracts raw materials such as platinum, diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore and coal through a large number of subsidiaries and participations. In addition, the Group operates facilities for the production of manganese and niobium as well as steel mills. The paper and packaging manufacturer Mondi was on 2. July 2007 spun off.

Anglo Base Metals meets the demand for non-ferrous metals such as copper, zinc, nickel or mineral-bearing sand. The company has several equity interests in South Africa, Ireland, Chile, Peru, Brazil and Namibia. Anglo American is mining nickel through a Brazilian company to acquire niobium and phosphates.

Nickel products

Nickel balls
Nickel bands
Nickel bars
Nickel blocks
Nickel board
Nickel chips
Nickel Chunk
Nickel coil
Nickel Concentrate
Nickel Crucibles
Nickel cubes
Nickel cylinder
Nickel Disc
Nickel Electrodes
Nickel Flake
Nickel flanges
Nickel foam
Nickel Foil
Nickel gauze
Nickel granules
Nickel grids
Nickel Honeycomb
Nickel Ingot
Nickel Insulated Wire
Nickel Lump
Nickel mesh
Nickel Metal
Nickel microfoil
Nickel Microleaf
Nickel Nanocrystalline Foil
Nickel on Silica / Alumina Catalyst
Nickel Parts
Nickel Particles
Nickel paste
Nickel pellets
Nickel Pieces
Nickel plates
Nickel powder
Nickel puck
Nickel Ribbon
Nickel rings
Nickel Rod
Nickel samples
Nickel Shaving
Nickel sheets
Nickel shot
Nickel Single Crystal
Nickel sleeves
Nickel slugs
Nickel Specimens
Nickel spheres
Nickel spheres, silver-coated
Nickel Sponge
Nickel Spring
Nickel Strip
Nickel tape
Nickel tube
Nickel wafer
Nickel wire
Nickel wool
Ultra Thin Nickel Foil

ISE / Arndt Uhlendorff- October 2019

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