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77-479: Falconbridge Nickel Mines Limited was a Canadian mining company with operations in 18 countries, involved in the exploration, mining, processing, and marketing of metal and mineral products, including nickel , copper , cobalt , and platinum . In 1982 the company was renamed Falconbridge Limited. It was listed on the TSX (under the symbol FAL.LV) and NYSE (FAL), and had revenue of US$ 6.9 billion in 2005. In August 2006, it

154-599: A Boeing 737-200 (registration C-FFAL). The aircraft is based in Toronto at Pearson International Airport . The aircraft was repainted with Xstrata livery following the takeover, and still operates. In 1996, as part of a strategic initiative - growth study, internally commissioned during the struggle between INCO and Falconbridge over acquiring Voisey Bay, a plan and proposal came forth for Falconbridge to abandon its attempt to acquire Voisey Bay and redirect its efforts and financial capacity at acquiring INCO itself. The strategic plan

231-408: A landmark decision that established the right of all market participants to have "relatively equal access to material information." The mine began ore production in 1966, as an open pit mine and eventually evolved into an underground mine. The mine produces copper, zinc, and several other metals. The mine has the oldest-known flowing water on Earth. A billion-year-old water sample collected from

308-484: A matte for further refining. Hydrometallurgical techniques are also used. Most sulfide deposits have traditionally been processed by concentration through a froth flotation process followed by pyrometallurgical extraction. The nickel matte is further processed with the Sherritt-Gordon process . First, copper is removed by adding hydrogen sulfide , leaving a concentrate of cobalt and nickel. Then, solvent extraction

385-510: A press release after the board of directors meeting on 16 April 1964. Seven drill holes indicated an ore body 800 feet long, 300 feet wide, and a vertical depth of 800 feet. During the initial exploration of the site, then known as Kidd-55, officers of the company engaged in insider trading in Texas Gulf shares. The ensuing lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission resulted in

462-483: A company town northeast of Sudbury which grew to be a community in its own right. The town of Falconbridge was incorporated by the provincial government in 1957. It was organized along with several other communities into the Town of Nickel Centre and Regional Municipality of Sudbury in 1973; the regional municipality was in turn amalgamated into today's city of Greater Sudbury in 2001. Some Falconbridge workers also lived in

539-399: A compound, nickel has a number of niche chemical manufacturing uses, such as a catalyst for hydrogenation , cathodes for rechargeable batteries, pigments and metal surface treatments. Nickel is an essential nutrient for some microorganisms and plants that have enzymes with nickel as an active site . Nickel is a silvery-white metal with a slight golden tinge that takes a high polish. It

616-624: A drill rig started drilling a 600-foot core sample in November. The core, later confirmed by the Union Assay Office in Salt Lake City, showed an average copper content of 1.15%, an average zinc content of 8.64%, and 3.94 ounces of silver per ton. A second hole was drilled in March 1964, followed by two more in early April. The copper-zinc-silver ore deposit at Kidd Mine discovery was announced in

693-530: A new refining process. In 1962, Falconbridge acquired Ventures Limited , including its numerous international operations and geological exploration infrastructure, allowing further expansion and growth outside of Canada. In 1971 the Falconbridge Dominicana (Falcondo) mine and process plant commenced operation in Bonao , Dominican Republic. The site employed a novel reduction and smelting technique superior to

770-702: A public controversy regarding the problems of people with nickel allergy . An estimated 3.6 million tonnes (t) of nickel per year are mined worldwide; Indonesia (1,800,000 t), the Philippines (400,000 t), Russia (200,000 t), New Caledonia ( France ) (230,000 t), Canada (180,000 t) and Australia (160,000 t) are the largest producers as of 2023. The largest nickel deposits in non-Russian Europe are in Finland and Greece . Identified land-based sources averaging at least 1% nickel contain at least 130 million tonnes of nickel. About 60%

847-497: Is Ni with 28 protons and 50 neutrons. Both are therefore unusually stable for nuclei with so large a proton–neutron imbalance . Nickel-63 is a contaminant found in the support structure of nuclear reactors. It is produced through neutron capture by nickel-62. Small amounts have also been found near nuclear weapon test sites in the South Pacific. Nickel ores are classified as oxides or sulfides. Oxides include laterite , where

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924-411: Is $ 0.045 (90% of the face value). In the 21st century, the high price of nickel has led to some replacement of the metal in coins around the world. Coins still made with nickel alloys include one- and two- euro coins , 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, and $ 1 U.S. coins , and 20p, 50p, £1, and £2 UK coins . From 2012 on the nickel-alloy used for 5p and 10p UK coins was replaced with nickel-plated steel. This ignited

1001-417: Is a 3d 4s energy level, specifically the 3d ( F) 4s F, J  = 4 level. However, each of these two configurations splits into several energy levels due to fine structure , and the two sets of energy levels overlap. The average energy of states with [Ar] 3d 4s is actually lower than the average energy of states with [Ar] 3d 4s . Therefore, the research literature on atomic calculations quotes

1078-714: Is a new nickel mine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula . Construction was completed in 2013, and operations began in the third quarter of 2014. In the first full year of operation, the Eagle Mine produced 18,000 t. Nickel is obtained through extractive metallurgy : it is extracted from ore by conventional roasting and reduction processes that yield metal of greater than 75% purity. In many stainless steel applications, 75% pure nickel can be used without further purification, depending on impurities. Traditionally, most sulfide ores are processed using pyrometallurgical techniques to produce

1155-497: Is a volatile, highly toxic liquid at room temperature. On heating, the complex decomposes back to nickel and carbon monoxide: This behavior is exploited in the Mond process for purifying nickel, as described above. The related nickel(0) complex bis(cyclooctadiene)nickel(0) is a useful catalyst in organonickel chemistry because the cyclooctadiene (or cod ) ligands are easily displaced. Nickel(I) complexes are uncommon, but one example

1232-517: Is also formed in nickel distillation as a by-product, but it decomposes to tetracobalt dodecacarbonyl at the reaction temperature to give a non-volatile solid. Kidd Mine An aerial geophysical survey , conducted by Texas Gulf Sulphur Company in March 1959, indicated an anomaly in the Kidd-55 segment warranting ground investigation. A ground electromagnetic survey was conducted in October 1963 and

1309-496: Is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slow to react with air under standard conditions because a passivation layer of nickel oxide forms on the surface that prevents further corrosion. Even so, pure native nickel is found in Earth's crust only in tiny amounts, usually in ultramafic rocks , and in the interiors of larger nickel–iron meteorites that were not exposed to oxygen when outside Earth's atmosphere. Meteoric nickel

1386-667: Is currently being set in place by the International Seabed Authority to ensure that these nodules are collected in an environmentally conscientious manner while adhering to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals . The one place in the United States where nickel has been profitably mined is Riddle, Oregon , with several square miles of nickel-bearing garnierite surface deposits. The mine closed in 1987. The Eagle mine project

1463-434: Is found in combination with iron , a reflection of the origin of those elements as major end products of supernova nucleosynthesis . An iron–nickel mixture is thought to compose Earth's outer and inner cores . Use of nickel (as natural meteoric nickel–iron alloy) has been traced as far back as 3500 BCE. Nickel was first isolated and classified as an element in 1751 by Axel Fredrik Cronstedt , who initially mistook

1540-470: Is greater than both Fe and Fe , more abundant nuclides often incorrectly cited as having the highest binding energy. Though this would seem to predict nickel as the most abundant heavy element in the universe, the high rate of photodisintegration of nickel in stellar interiors causes iron to be by far the most abundant. Nickel-60 is the daughter product of the extinct radionuclide Fe (half-life 2.6 million years). Due to

1617-558: Is in laterites and 40% is in sulfide deposits. Also, extensive nickel sources are found in the depths of the Pacific Ocean , especially in an area called the Clarion Clipperton Zone in the form of polymetallic nodules peppering the seafloor at 3.5–6 km below sea level . These nodules are composed of numerous rare-earth metals and are estimated to be 1.7% nickel. With advances in science and engineering , regulation

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1694-455: Is now Syria have been found to contain as much as 2% nickel. Some ancient Chinese manuscripts suggest that "white copper" ( cupronickel , known as baitong ) was used there in 1700–1400 BCE. This Paktong white copper was exported to Britain as early as the 17th century, but the nickel content of this alloy was not discovered until 1822. Coins of nickel-copper alloy were minted by Bactrian kings Agathocles , Euthydemus II , and Pantaleon in

1771-434: Is now known as the mineral nickeline (formerly niccolite ), a nickel arsenide . In 1751, Baron Axel Fredrik Cronstedt tried to extract copper from kupfernickel at a cobalt mine in the village of Los, Sweden , and instead produced a white metal that he named nickel after the spirit that had given its name to the mineral. In modern German, Kupfernickel or Kupfer-Nickel designates the alloy cupronickel . Originally,

1848-412: Is one of only four elements that are ferromagnetic at or near room temperature; the others are iron, cobalt and gadolinium . Its Curie temperature is 355 °C (671 °F), meaning that bulk nickel is non-magnetic above this temperature. The unit cell of nickel is a face-centered cube ; it has lattice parameter of 0.352 nm, giving an atomic radius of 0.124 nm. This crystal structure

1925-469: Is produced by the silicon burning process and later set free in large amounts in type Ia supernovae . The shape of the light curve of these supernovae at intermediate to late-times corresponds to the decay via electron capture of Ni to cobalt -56 and ultimately to iron-56. Nickel-59 is a long-lived cosmogenic radionuclide ; half-life 76,000 years. Ni has found many applications in isotope geology . Ni has been used to date

2002-569: Is stable to pressures of at least 70 GPa. Nickel is hard, malleable and ductile , and has a relatively high electrical and thermal conductivity for transition metals. The high compressive strength of 34 GPa, predicted for ideal crystals, is never obtained in the real bulk material due to formation and movement of dislocations . However, it has been reached in Ni nanoparticles . Nickel has two atomic electron configurations , [Ar] 3d 4s and [Ar] 3d 4s , which are very close in energy; [Ar] denotes

2079-446: Is the tetrahedral complex NiBr(PPh 3 ) 3 . Many nickel(I) complexes have Ni–Ni bonding, such as the dark red diamagnetic K 4 [Ni 2 (CN) 6 ] prepared by reduction of K 2 [Ni 2 (CN) 6 ] with sodium amalgam . This compound is oxidized in water, liberating H 2 . It is thought that the nickel(I) oxidation state is important to nickel-containing enzymes, such as [NiFe]-hydrogenase , which catalyzes

2156-475: Is used as the cathode in many rechargeable batteries , including nickel–cadmium , nickel–iron , nickel–hydrogen , and nickel–metal hydride , and used by certain manufacturers in Li-ion batteries . Ni(IV) remains a rare oxidation state and very few compounds are known. Ni(IV) occurs in the mixed oxide BaNiO 3 . Unintentional use of nickel can be traced back as far as 3500 BCE. Bronzes from what

2233-455: Is used chiefly in alloys and corrosion-resistant plating. About 68% of world production is used in stainless steel . A further 10% is used for nickel-based and copper-based alloys, 9% for plating, 7% for alloy steels, 3% in foundries, and 4% in other applications such as in rechargeable batteries, including those in electric vehicles (EVs). Nickel is widely used in coins , though nickel-plated objects sometimes provoke nickel allergy . As

2310-412: Is used to separate the cobalt and nickel, with the final nickel content greater than 86%. A second common refining process is leaching the metal matte into a nickel salt solution, followed by electrowinning the nickel from solution by plating it onto a cathode as electrolytic nickel. The purest metal is obtained from nickel oxide by the Mond process , which gives a purity of over 99.99%. The process

2387-608: The Antamina copper/zinc open-pit mine in northern Peru , the Collahuasi copper/ molybdenum open-pit mine (including mill, liquid–liquid extraction plant, and electrowinning plant) in northern Chile , the Lomas Bayas open-pit copper mine (including liquid–liquid extraction plant and electrowinning plant), and the Altonorte copper smelter also in northern Chile. Falconbridge also owned

Falconbridge Nickel Mines - Misplaced Pages Continue

2464-983: The Montcalm underground nickel mine west of Timmins. Other sites were located in Quebec , Ontario ( Rouyn-Noranda : Horne copper smelter, Montreal : CCR copper refinery, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield : CEZ zinc refinery, Nunavik : Raglan underground nickel/copper mine and mill) and Bathurst , New Brunswick (Brunswick underground zinc/lead mine, lead smelter and lead refinery, and silver refinery). Copper and precious metal recycling facilities were at Brampton , Ontario; East Providence , Rhode Island; La Vergne , Tennessee; Roseville , California; San Jose , California; and Penang , Malaysia. Falconbridge Ltd. also operated an aluminium smelter in New Madrid , Missouri and an alumina refinery in Gramercy , Louisiana. The aluminum produced from these mills

2541-544: The Sudbury region , Canada (which is thought to be of meteoric origin), New Caledonia in the Pacific , Western Australia , and Norilsk , Russia. Nickel is one of four elements (the others are iron , cobalt , and gadolinium ) that are ferromagnetic at about room temperature. Alnico permanent magnets based partly on nickel are of intermediate strength between iron-based permanent magnets and rare-earth magnets . The metal

2618-459: The Sudbury region . As part of this, a new, more efficient smelter was opened, as well as a facility for the production of sulfuric acid . This commercially saleable chemical had been a source of significant ecological damage when it was produced in the atmosphere by the reaction of sulfur dioxide emissions. The new acid plant allowed this effect to be greatly reduced by catalyzing the reaction before emission, while producing additional revenue from

2695-467: The arsenide niccolite . Identified land-based resources throughout the world averaging 1% nickel or greater comprise at least 130 million tons of nickel (about the double of known reserves). About 60% is in laterites and 40% in sulfide deposits. On geophysical evidence, most of the nickel on Earth is believed to be in Earth's outer and inner cores . Kamacite and taenite are naturally occurring alloys of iron and nickel. For kamacite,

2772-484: The metal aquo complex [Ni(H 2 O) 6 ] . The four halides form nickel compounds, which are solids with molecules with octahedral Ni centres. Nickel(II) chloride is most common, and its behavior is illustrative of the other halides. Nickel(II) chloride is made by dissolving nickel or its oxide in hydrochloric acid . It is usually found as the green hexahydrate, whose formula is usually written NiCl 2 ·6H 2 O . When dissolved in water, this salt forms

2849-479: The metal aquo complex [Ni(H 2 O) 6 ] . Dehydration of NiCl 2 ·6H 2 O gives yellow anhydrous NiCl 2 . Some tetracoordinate nickel(II) complexes, e.g. bis(triphenylphosphine)nickel chloride , exist both in tetrahedral and square planar geometries. The tetrahedral complexes are paramagnetic ; the square planar complexes are diamagnetic . In having properties of magnetic equilibrium and formation of octahedral complexes, they contrast with

2926-502: The ore for a copper mineral , in the cobalt mines of Los, Hälsingland, Sweden . The element's name comes from a mischievous sprite of German miner mythology, Nickel (similar to Old Nick ). Nickel minerals can be green, like copper ores, and were known as kupfernickel – Nickel's copper – because they produced no copper. Although most nickel in the earth's crust exists as oxides, economically more important nickel ores are sulfides, especially pentlandite . Major production sites include

3003-453: The 1950s and early 1960s, factional wars between the competing unions sometimes led to riots in the streets of Sudbury. A proposal to merge Inco and Falconbridge in 2006 was headed with the slogan "Two proud histories, one great future", in reference to the strong identities which workers and the community had attached to the companies. A major street in Sudbury is named Falconbridge Road, after

3080-531: The 2nd century BCE, possibly out of the Chinese cupronickel. In medieval Germany, a metallic yellow mineral was found in the Ore Mountains that resembled copper ore. But when miners were unable to get any copper from it, they blamed a mischievous sprite of German mythology, Nickel (similar to Old Nick ), for besetting the copper. They called this ore Kupfernickel from German Kupfer 'copper'. This ore

3157-554: The Sudbury operations in Project Pentlandite , with both companies performing the same kind of extraction and smelting work on the same kind of ore. The two companies were set upon by hostile takeover bids from rival firms. Swiss Xstrata , already 19.9% owner of Falconbridge, bid for a complete acquisition, while Teck Cominco of Vancouver set its sights on Inco. On 13 May 2006, Inco announced that it increased its offer to acquire Falconbridge by $ 5.00 CAD per share, bringing

Falconbridge Nickel Mines - Misplaced Pages Continue

3234-498: The United States, the term "nickel" or "nick" originally applied to the copper-nickel Flying Eagle cent , which replaced copper with 12% nickel 1857–58, then the Indian Head cent of the same alloy from 1859 to 1864. Still later, in 1865, the term designated the three-cent nickel , with nickel increased to 25%. In 1866, the five-cent shield nickel (25% nickel, 75% copper) appropriated the designation, which has been used ever since for

3311-497: The alloy is usually in the proportion of 90:10 to 95:5, though impurities (such as cobalt or carbon ) may be present. Taenite is 20% to 65% nickel. Kamacite and taenite are also found in nickel iron meteorites . Nickel is commonly found in iron meteorites as the alloys kamacite and taenite . Nickel in meteorites was first detected in 1799 by Joseph-Louis Proust , a French chemist who then worked in Spain. Proust analyzed samples of

3388-468: The bid to $ 61.04 CAD per share (based on 23 June 2006 Inco/Phelps Dodge share price). On 26 June 2006, Phelps Dodge made a bid for the proposed combined Inco/Falconbridge company, valued at around US$ 40 billion. This would have formed the Phelps Dodge Inco Corp., valued at US$ 56 billion, creating the fifth largest mining company, largest nickel producer, and the second largest copper producer in

3465-780: The bidding war with Inco for the deposit at Voisey's Bay . The new century saw more acquisitions, including the Montcalm mine in Timmins, the Kabanga project in Tanzania , and the Lomas Bayas mine in Chile . In June 2005 Falconbridge merged with Noranda , previously the 58.4% owner, continuing under the name Falconbridge Limited. Noranda brought significant variety to the business, including operations in aluminum mining and recycling of electronic hardware. At

3542-425: The company and community. In 2007, Xstrata donated Falconbridge's historic Edison Building , its onetime head office, to the city of Greater Sudbury to serve as the new home of the city archives. Nickel Nickel is a chemical element ; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal . Pure nickel

3619-464: The complete argon core structure. There is some disagreement on which configuration has the lower energy. Chemistry textbooks quote nickel's electron configuration as [Ar] 4s 3d , also written [Ar] 3d 4s . This configuration agrees with the Madelung energy ordering rule , which predicts that 4s is filled before 3d. It is supported by the experimental fact that the lowest energy state of the nickel atom

3696-484: The divalent complexes of the heavier group 10 metals, palladium(II) and platinum(II), which form only square-planar geometry. Nickelocene has an electron count of 20. Many chemical reactions of nickelocene tend to yield 18-electron products. Many Ni(III) compounds are known. Ni(III) forms simple salts with fluoride or oxide ions. Ni(III) can be stabilized by σ-donor ligands such as thiols and organophosphines . Ni(III) occurs in nickel oxide hydroxide , which

3773-479: The ground state configuration as [Ar] 3d 4s . The isotopes of nickel range in atomic weight from 48  u ( Ni ) to 82 u ( Ni ). Natural nickel is composed of five stable isotopes , Ni , Ni , Ni , Ni and Ni , of which Ni is the most abundant (68.077% natural abundance ). Nickel-62 has the highest binding energy per nucleon of any nuclide : 8.7946 MeV/nucleon. Its binding energy

3850-558: The kiln process. To aid in community development, the Falcondo Foundation was established in 1989 and has been a pioneer in Natural Resource Corporate Social Responsibility. In 1977, Falconbridge patented the chlorine leach nickel refining process that had been developed in-house. The late 1970s saw the company play a role, alongside Inco , in the environmental reclamation efforts undertaken in

3927-717: The large deposits in the Sudbury Basin in Canada in 1883, in Norilsk -Talnakh in Russia in 1920, and in the Merensky Reef in South Africa in 1924 made large-scale nickel production possible. Aside from the aforementioned Bactrian coins, nickel was not a component of coins until the mid-19th century. 99.9% nickel five-cent coins were struck in Canada (the world's largest nickel producer at

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4004-444: The livelihood of thousands of workers. The effect diminished as economic diversification progressed in the 1980s and 1990s. Citizens, particularly workers and their families, came to develop an attachment to what were seen as local companies with significant size and influence in the mining industry. In particular, a certain degree of rivalry between workers at the two mining giants, who were members of rival labour unions, developed. In

4081-772: The long half-life of Fe , its persistence in materials in the Solar System may generate observable variations in the isotopic composition of Ni . Therefore, the abundance of Ni in extraterrestrial material may give insight into the origin of the Solar System and its early history. At least 26 nickel radioisotopes have been characterized; the most stable are Ni with half-life 76,000 years, Ni (100 years), and Ni (6 days). All other radioisotopes have half-lives less than 60 hours and most these have half-lives less than 30 seconds. This element also has one meta state . Radioactive nickel-56

4158-416: The metals at a profit. The United States Mint , anticipating this practice, implemented new interim rules on December 14, 2006, subject to public comment for 30 days, which criminalized the melting and export of cents and nickels. Violators can be punished with a fine of up to $ 10,000 and/or a maximum of five years in prison. As of September 19, 2013, the melt value of a US nickel (copper and nickel included)

4235-446: The meteorite from Campo del Cielo (Argentina), which had been obtained in 1783 by Miguel Rubín de Celis, discovering the presence in them of nickel (about 10%) along with iron. The most common oxidation state of nickel is +2, but compounds of Ni , Ni , and Ni are well known, and the exotic oxidation states Ni and Ni have been characterized. Nickel tetracarbonyl (Ni(CO) 4 ), discovered by Ludwig Mond ,

4312-538: The mine was added to the collection at Ingenium in Ottawa on November 25, 2020. The Kidd deposit is one of the largest volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposits in the world, and one of the world's largest base metal deposits. It lies within the Abitibi greenstone belt . Kidd Mine and Met Site collectively employ approximately 850 employees and contractors. In 2008, the company committed to investing $ 120 million to extend

4389-471: The nearby community of Happy Valley , which was abandoned in the 1960s due to pollution from the Falconbridge smelter. "Falco", as it was often called by Sudbury residents, remained for decades the second-largest employer in the Sudbury area, exceeded only by rival mining giant Inco. The economic fortune of the city was tied to those of the mining companies, as a strike at either company had a major effect on

4466-594: The new company acquired the Kristiansand Nikkelraffineringsverk A/S refinery in Kristiansand , Norway. This expanded its operations, but more importantly the company also gained the rights to the Hybinette nickel refining process. The operations at the Falconbridge site expanded in the early 1930s. By 1930 ore from an underground mine was being extracted at 250 tonnes per day, and a nearby smelter

4543-505: The only source for nickel was the rare Kupfernickel. Beginning in 1824, nickel was obtained as a byproduct of cobalt blue production. The first large-scale smelting of nickel began in Norway in 1848 from nickel-rich pyrrhotite . The introduction of nickel in steel production in 1889 increased the demand for nickel; the nickel deposits of New Caledonia , discovered in 1865, provided most of the world's supply between 1875 and 1915. The discovery of

4620-468: The original discovery of the Falconbridge ore body, but remained undeveloped until Lindsley's purchase. Soon thereafter, planning and construction of a company town began, to house and service workers for the future mines. The community, complete with utilities and a medical centre, was named Falconbridge after the geographic township in which it was located. Likewise, the company became known as Falconbridge Nickel Mines Limited. Just one year later in 1929,

4697-407: The principal mineral mixtures are nickeliferous limonite , (Fe,Ni)O(OH), and garnierite (a mixture of various hydrous nickel and nickel-rich silicates). Nickel sulfides commonly exist as solid solutions with iron in minerals such as pentlandite and pyrrhotite with the formula Fe 9-x Ni x S 8 and Fe 7-x Ni x S 6 , respectively. Other common Ni-containing minerals are millerite and

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4774-418: The production to 2017, and deepen the mine to 9,600 feet (2,900 m). The investment would add 3.4 million tonnes of ore into the mine plan. The expansion included the development of three additional production levels and deepening the ramp from the 9100 level to the 9600 level, where the loading pocket is located. This included an extension of the ventilation and backfill systems to the new sections of

4851-477: The reversible reduction of protons to H 2 . Nickel(II) forms compounds with all common anions, including sulfide , sulfate , carbonate, hydroxide, carboxylates, and halides. Nickel(II) sulfate is produced in large amounts by dissolving nickel metal or oxides in sulfuric acid , forming both a hexa- and heptahydrate useful for electroplating nickel. Common salts of nickel, such as chloride, nitrate, and sulfate, dissolve in water to give green solutions of

4928-541: The sale of the acid. By 1984, the commercial reserves at the original Falconbridge Mine had been exhausted. Production continued at several other sites in the Sudbury area. The company expanded within northern Ontario by acquiring the Kidd Mine and Kidd Metallurgical Site (Met Site) in Timmins , Ontario. Expansion continued in the 1990s, with a new mine in Sudbury, and one at Raglan in northern Quebec, though Falconbridge lost

5005-464: The subsequent 5-cent pieces. This alloy proportion is not ferromagnetic . The US nickel coin contains 0.04 ounces (1.1 g) of nickel, which at the April 2007 price was worth 6.5 cents, along with 3.75 grams of copper worth about 3 cents, with a total metal value of more than 9 cents. Since the face value of a nickel is 5 cents, this made it an attractive target for melting by people wanting to sell

5082-399: The terrestrial age of meteorites and to determine abundances of extraterrestrial dust in ice and sediment . Nickel-78, with a half-life of 110 milliseconds, is believed an important isotope in supernova nucleosynthesis of elements heavier than iron. Ni, discovered in 1999, is the most proton-rich heavy element isotope known. With 28 protons and 20 neutrons , Ni is " doubly magic ", as

5159-701: The time of the Xstrata takeover, Falconbridge had major operations in and around the Sudbury Basin , including the Craig , Fraser , and Thayer Lindsley underground copper/nickel mines, as well as a mill (Strathcona), nickel smelter , sulfuric acid plant, and a technology centre. In 2005, Falconbridge had started the Deposit Definition phase of the Nickel Rim South mine near the Sudbury Airport . Metal refining

5236-552: The time) during non-war years from 1922 to 1981; the metal content made these coins magnetic. During the war years 1942–1945, most or all nickel was removed from Canadian and US coins to save it for making armor. Canada used 99.9% nickel from 1968 in its higher-value coins until 2000. Coins of nearly pure nickel were first used in 1881 in Switzerland. Birmingham forged nickel coins in c.  1833 for trading in Malaysia. In

5313-654: The world with corporate and copper division headquarters located in Phoenix, Arizona and nickel division headquarters in Toronto, Ontario. The deadline for the Inco offer was 13 July 2006. On 18 May 2006, Xstrata had announced a proposal to acquire Falconbridge for $ 52.50 CAD per share. This was a cash offer, unlike the Inco offer of a combination of cash and shares. On 12 July 2006, Xstrata announced that it increased its offer to acquire Falconbridge to $ 59.00 CAD per share (an approximate total value of $ 22.5 billion CAD). This counter-offer

5390-458: Was 9.6% higher than Inco's bid. The deadline for Xstrata's bid to be complete was 21 July 2006. Xstrata acquired and absorbed Falconbridge in late August 2006, leaving Inco open to bids by Phelps Dodge and the Brazilian company CVRD . Falconbridge became Xstrata Nickel, which continued to be based in Toronto. On 2 May 2013 Glencore completed the merger with Xstrata. Falconbridge lent its name to

5467-518: Was absorbed by Swiss-based mining company Xstrata , which had formerly been a major shareholder. On 28 October 2007, Falconbridge Limited changed its name to the Xstrata Canada Corporation. Falconbridge, named after the town Falconbridge, which in turn was named for a prominent "son", one Sir William Glenholme Falconbridge , High Court Judge whose father John Kennedy Falconbridge, had migrated to Ontario from Lisburn Ireland. Falconbridge

5544-419: Was an important player in the economic and commercial development of the northern region of Ontario Canada, particularly the communities in and around Sudbury . In 1928, an experienced prospector and businessman Thayer Lindsley purchased mining claims containing rich deposits of nickel-copper ore in the area northeast of Sudbury. These claims had been established as early as 1901, when Thomas Edison made

5621-483: Was in operation to process the material. In 1932, a mill and sintering facility began operation. Through the 1950s and 1960s, significant expansion of the Sudbury Basin operations took place, including some twelve new mines. All recovered nickel, copper, and smaller amounts of other materials including platinides . Meanwhile, the Nikkelverk operation began recovering cobalt alongside previous extractions in 1952, using

5698-433: Was no longer carried out in Sudbury by Falconbridge, but rather at its Falconbridge Nikkelverk operation in Kristiansand . Another Canadian operation was the Kidd Mine and Kidd Metallurgical Site in Timmins , Ontario which includes an underground copper /zinc mine, concentrator, copper smelter and copper refinery , zinc plant, indium plant, cadmium plant, and sulfuric acid plants. Falconbridge also operated

5775-429: Was patented by Ludwig Mond and has been in industrial use since before the beginning of the 20th century. In this process, nickel is treated with carbon monoxide in the presence of a sulfur catalyst at around 40–80 °C to form nickel carbonyl . In a similar reaction with iron, iron pentacarbonyl can form, though this reaction is slow. If necessary, the nickel may be separated by distillation. Dicobalt octacarbonyl

5852-627: Was prepared in one of four rolling mills located in Huntingdon , Tennessee (2 mills); Salisbury , North Carolina (1 mill); and Newport , Arkansas (1 mill). Central American and Caribbean projects included the St. Ann bauxite mine in Discovery Bay , Jamaica and the Falcondo nickel surface mine and processing plant in Bonao , Dominican Republic. South American properties were mainly copper deposits such as

5929-471: Was presented to and declined by Falconbridge majority owners at the time, Noranda (and their majority owner - Brascan). On 11 October 2005, Inco announced a proposal to acquire Falconbridge for $ 12 billion. This came at a time of especially high prices for base metals, including nickel. Part of the motivation for the merger was to avoid a takeover of either company by cash-flushed foreign competitors. Additionally, significant synergies would have been realized in

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