The life of Ni 2 CONTENTS ABOUT NICKEL 3 NICKEL PROPERTIES 4 NICKEL RESOURCES AND RESERVES 7 NICKEL MINING 9 NICKEL PRODUCTION 11 NICKEL USE 13 FIRST USE OF NICKEL 14 END USE OF NICKEL 15 RECYCLING: A NEW LIFE FOR NI 16 OUTLOOK 18 3 About 80 WHILE THE Nickel CONCENTRATION OF NICKEL IN THE EARTH’S CRUST Nickel is a naturally occurring metallic element with a IS AT 80 PARTS silvery-white, shiny appearance. It is the fifth most common PER MILLION, THE element on earth and occurs extensively in the earth’s crust EARTH’S CORE and core. Nickel, along with iron, is also a common element in meteorites, and can even be found in small quantities in CONSISTS MAINLY plants, animals and seawater. OF A NICKEL-IRON ALLOY. Nickel has been found in metallic artefacts dating back more than 2000 years. It was first identified and isolated as an element by the Swedish chemist, Axel Cronstedt, in 1751. Mine production of nickel began in Norway in 1848, followed by New Caledonia in 1875 and Canada in 1886. During this period in the 19th century, nickel came to prominence in plating and in alloys such as “nickel silver” in which it is alloyed with copper and zinc (it does not actually contain any silver). Nickel’s name comes from the German term ‘Kupfernickel’ or Devil’s Copper, as the miners in the 15th century thought the ore looked red-brown like copper – but it was too difficult to mine. 4 Nickel properties HIGH MELTING RESISTS VERY DUCTILE ALLOYS POINT, 1453 ºC CORROSION AND READILY OXIDATION Nickel is widely used in hundreds of thousands of products for consumer, industrial, military, transport, aerospace, marine and architectural applications. Its outstanding physical and chemical properties make nickel essential in many end- use products. 5 MAGNETIC CAN BE HAS CAN BE FULLY AT ROOM DEPOSITED BY CATALYTIC RECYCLED TEMPERATURE ELECTROPLATING PROPERTIES PRODUCTS CONTAINING NICKEL ARE: EFFICIENT IN TERMS OF ENERGY AND RESOURCE USE DURABLE WITH LOW MAINTENANCE RECYCLABLE 6 300 THE WORLD’S NICKEL RESOURCES ARE CURRENTLY ESTIMATED AT ALMOST 300 MILLION TONS. KNOWN NICKEL RESOURCES HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED OVER THE PAST 30 YEARS, AS HAS NICKEL MINE PRODUCTION. Albania 0.9% Kazakhstan 0.7% Kosovo 0.2% Solomon Islands Turkey 0.6% Ethiopia 0.1% Zambia 0.5% 0.9% Oman 0.6% Venezuela 0.1% Ivory Coast 0.1% Dominican Puerto Rico 0.4% Togo 0.1% Togo 0.1% Serbia 1.1% Republic 0.7% Macedonia 0.3% Poland 0.1% Botswana 1.3% Spain 0.1% Norway 0.1% Cameroon 1.1% Sweden 1.3% India 1.1% Tanzania 1.5% Myanmar 1.2% Australia 17.7% Australia 10.1% Madagascar 1.3% Zimbabwe 3.1% Greece 1.8% International Waters 3.1% Colombia 1.8% Burundi 2.0% Finland 4.1% Tanzania 1.1% United States 4.3% Guatemala 2.2% SULPHIDE Papua New Guinea 2.4% LATERITE WORLD RESOURCE China 5.1% WORLD Ivory Coast 2.4% RESOURCE South Africa 28.1% United States 0.2% 178 MILLION Brazil 1.4% METRIC TONS Indonesia 18.7% 118 MILLION New Caledonia 8.4% METRIC TONS Canada 18.6% Russia 2.2% Cuba 9.1% Russia 17.3% Philippines 10.1% Brazil 8.3% Source: Gavin M. Mudd and Simon M. Jowitt, A Detailed Assessment of Global Nickel Resource Trends and Endowments, 2014 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc. Economic Geology, v. 109, pp. 1813–1814 7 Nickel resources and reserves* The world’s nickel resources are currently estimated at almost 300 million tons. Australia, Indonesia, South Africa, Russia and Canada account for more than 50% of the global nickel resources. Economic concentrations of nickel occur in sulphide and in laterite-type ore deposits. Despite the fact that nickel mining has significantly increased over the past three decades, known nickel reserves and resources have also steadily grown. Various parameters play a role in this evolution, including better knowledge and increased exploration activities in remote areas, driven by attractive commodity prices. Improved technologies in mining, smelting and refining, as well as increased capacities, also allow for lower-grade nickel ore to be processed. There are also reckoned to be significant nickel deposits in the sea. Manganese nodules, which are found on the deep-sea floor, contain significant amounts of various metals, including nickel. According to recent estimates, there are more than 290 million tons of nickel contained in such deposits. The development of deep-sea mining technologies is expected to facilitate access to these resources in the future. * Reserves and resources are defined terms in mineral deposits classification and are based on their geologic certainty and economic value. Reserves are defined as being valuable and economically, legally and technically feasible to be extracted. Resources are potentially valuable and for which reasonable prospects exist for eventual extraction. Reference: US Geological Survey, 1980, Principles of a Resource/Reserve classification for Minerals, Circular 831 NINE COUNTRIES ACCOUNT FOR 75% OF GLOBAL NICKEL RESERVES. LATERITE-TYPE (OR OXIDE- TYPE) RESOURCES ARE FOUND IN INDONESIA, THE PHILIPPINES, BRAZIL, CUBA AND NEW CALEDONIA. SULPHIDE- TYPE DEPOSITS ARE FOUND IN SOUTH AFRICA, RUSSIA AND CANADA. AUSTRALIA HAS THE BIGGEST NICKEL RESOURCES WITH BOTH SULPHIDE- AND LATERITE- Laterite Sulphide TYPE ORE DEPOSITS. Source: Gavin M. Mudd and Simon M. Jowitt, A Detailed Assessment of Global Nickel Resource Trends and Endowments, 2014 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc. Economic Geology, v. 109, pp. 1813–1814 8 Cradle-to-gate Unlike most other metals, nickel ores are found in diverse geological formations, in different mineralogical forms, at different depths, with varying percentages of nickel content, and often with other metals present. The processing techniques used depend on these variables which yield different rates of metal recovery. RESOURCES ORE MINING Surface - underground Sulphidic Lateritic Ore Ore UPSTREAM SUPPLIES Electricity - fuels - materials BENEFICIATION ORE PREPARATION PRIMARY PRIMARY EXTRACTION EXTRACTION REFINING Class 1 nickel Ferronickel By-products 9 Nickel mining Nickel-containing ores are currently mined in more than 25 countries worldwide. The Asia Pacific region accounts for more than 70% of global nickel mine production. Indonesia, the Philippines, Russia, Australia and Canada are the biggest nickel producers. 70% ASIA PACIFIC ECONOMIES* While mine production in Canada and Russia is mainly linked ACCOUNT FOR MORE THAN to the mining of sulphide-type ore deposits, Indonesia and 70% OF GLOBAL NICKEL MINE the Philippines predominantly mine laterites. In Australia, both PRODUCTION AND, GIVEN THE laterite and sulphide mine production take place. Due to their ABUNDANCE OF THEIR NICKEL geological formation, laterite-type ore deposits and mines are RESERVES, THE REGION IS principally found in equatorial regions and production from this EXPECTED TO REMAIN AT THE type of deposits has steadily increased in recent decades. FOREFRONT OF NICKEL MINING IN THE FUTURE. The main nickel mining companies include Ambatovy, Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Glencore, JFE Mineral Company Ltd., * APEC figures include Russian production. Lundin Mining Corporation, MMC Norilsk Nickel, Pacific Metals Co. Ltd., Sherritt International Corporation, Eramet, South32, Sumitomo Metals Mining Co. Ltd., Vale, and Western Areas Ltd. NICKEL MINE OUTPUT (KT) Finland 0.9% Russia Canada 12.1% 10.7% Serbia 0.3% Albania FYROM Spain 0.2% 0.8% China. P.R. 0.4% Cuba Greece 4.6% 2.3% 1.0% Vietnam 0.3% Philippines Myanmar 21.2% Guatemala (Burma) 1.8% 1.0% Papua New Colombia Madagascar Indonesia Guinea 3.5% Botswana 1.8% 8.1% 1.0% 1.3% Brazil 4.7% Zimbabwe 0.6% New World Total South Africa Caledonia 2.5% Australia 8.1% 2.2 MILLION 11.2% METRIC TONS Source: INSG Yearbook 2015. Data from 2014 10 AFRICA Madagascar 2% South Africa 2% 4% Zimbabwe <1% AMERICAS Brazil 4% Canada 8% Colombia 2% 15% Cuba <1% Dominican Rep. 1% ASIA China. P.R. 35% Indonesia 1% Japan 9% 47% Korea. Rep. 1% Myanmar (Burma) 1% 46% EUROPE IN JUST 10 YEARS, CHINA EU27 6% HAS BECOME THE GLOBAL Austria <1% Finland 2% LEADER IN NICKEL France <1% PRODUCTION. IN 2013, MORE Greece 1% 24% United Kingdom 2% THAN A THIRD OF GLOBAL FYROM 1% NICKEL PRODUCTION Norway 5% Russia 12% ORIGINATED FROM CHINA. Serbia <1% ANNUAL GROWTH RATES Ukraine 1% OVER RECENT YEARS HAVE BEEN AS HIGH AS 46%. OCEANIA Australia 7% 10% New Caledonia 3% Source: INSG Yearbook 2015. Data from 2014. Figures are rounded. Note that INSG allocates Russian production to Europe in accordance with UN practice. 11 Nickel production Over the past ten years, global nickel output has increased by more than 65%, while that of China has shot up by a factor of 13. The output of primary nickel production is generally divided into two main product categories. Nickel Class I describes a group of nickel products comprising electrolytic nickel, powders and briquettes, as well as carbonyl nickel. Nickel Class II comprises nickel pig iron and ferronickel. These nickel products commonly have a lower nickel content and are used especially in stainless steel production, where stainless steel producers take advantage of the iron content. I II ROUGHLY 55% OF THE TOTAL NICKEL MINING OUTPUT RELATES TO CLASS I NICKEL PRODUCTS, WITH CLASS II NICKEL PRODUCTS ACCOUNTING FOR THE REMAINING 45%. 1.99 MILLION METRIC TONS TOTAL ANNUAL WORLD PRODUCTION 12 China accounted for half of global nickel use in 2014. Asia plays a dominant role when it comes to the first use with roughly 70% global market share followed by Europe with roughly 20% and the US with around 8%. 13 Nickel use OCEANIA 0.1% Australia 0.1% Ukraine 0.3% AFRICA 1.1% South Africa 1.0% Other EU 0.3% Other Africa 0.1% Sweden 1.4% United Kingdom 1.2% Brazil 1.0% EUROPE 19.1% Spain 2.1% AMERICAS 9.8% Slovenia 0.2% Canada 0.4% Romania 0.1% Mexico 0.1% United States 8.1% Poland 0.2% Italy 3.1% Other America 0.2% Germany 3.7% France 1.5% Finland 1.6% Czech Republic 0.3% Belgium/Lux.