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59-581: The Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine is a nickel mine and hydrometallurgical processing plant located at Bandalup Hill, 35 km (22 mi) east of Ravensthorpe, Western Australia . Built by BHP Billiton , it was closed in January 2009, after less than a year of operation due to a collapse in the price of nickel. It was sold in December 2009 to First Quantum Minerals who reopened the mine in December 2011, after 18 months of modifications and re-commissioning. Following

118-484: 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

177-399: 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

236-554: A period of low nickel prices, the operation was placed on care and maintenance in October 2017. Production recommenced in January 2020 with POSCO purchasing a 30% shareholding in May 2021. Mining in Ravensthorpe considerably predates the current nickel mine, with gold discoveries dating back to 1898. The town experienced a down turn after World War I but mining for copper continued up until

295-702: 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%

354-496: A reason for care and maintenance announcements. In some cases controlling interest companies decide not to provide further funding for subsidiary operations. While the mine is closed, a care and maintenance program will manage environmental risks associated with tailings dumps, hazardous materials and open and underground pits. Care of idle plant and machinery will also be included in the program. Public health and safety considerations and emergency response plans continue during

413-440: A safe working environment and received a fine of A$ 40,000. 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 is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slow to react with air under standard conditions because a passivation layer of nickel oxide forms on

472-497: 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

531-411: 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

590-417: 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

649-714: 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

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708-497: 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

767-420: 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. Care and maintenance The mine might be considered to be temporarily unviable, due to current economic conditions or unfavourable resource prices, which are expected to improve at a later date. Declining ore grades at some mines can also be

826-667: 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

885-470: 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

944-558: 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

1003-455: 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

1062-434: 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,

1121-412: 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

1180-469: 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

1239-456: Is scheduled to resume. In April 2024, RNO announced they would be closing down operations and going into Care and Maintenance for the fourth time, cutting down a further estimated 330 jobs. The project comprises five ore bodies, Halleys, Hale-Bopp, Shoemaker-Levy, Nindilbillup and Shoemaker-Levy North, with total proven and probable reserves of 197.2 million tonnes at a grade of 0.6% nickel and 0.03% cobalt (at 31 December 2017). Shoemaker-Levy,

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1298-569: 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

1357-446: 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

1416-631: 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 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

1475-475: 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

1534-455: 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

1593-412: 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

1652-515: 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,

1711-484: 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

1770-479: 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

1829-433: The 1970s. A railway line connected Ravensthorpe with the port of Hopetoun from 1901 to 1925, when the line was closed. BHP Billiton commenced a feasibility study in 2002 into opening a nickel and cobalt mine and processing plant at the cost of A$ 1.4 billion 35 km (22 mi) east of the town of Ravensthorpe. The project was approved in 2004 and construction commenced shortly afterward. The plant known as

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1888-531: 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

1947-578: The Ravensthorpe Nickel Project was commissioned in late 2007 with first production occurring in October and the first 5,000 tonnes being produced by December 2007. The plant was officially opened in 2008, after massive cost blow outs and delays. Production was expected to total 50,000 tonnes of nickel per year. In January 2009, BHP Billiton announced that it was suspending production at the Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine indefinitely due to

2006-498: 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

2065-497: 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

2124-419: The closure. On 9 December 2009, BHP Billiton announced it had agreed terms to sell the mine to First Quantum Minerals for US$ 340 million. First Quantum was one of three bidders for the mine and actually produced the lowest offer. First Quantum won the bid despite offers from Minara Resources at US$ 360 million and Poseidon Nickel at US$ 400 million being higher than theirs. BHP Billiton said that

2183-464: 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

2242-484: 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

2301-691: The earth's crust exists as oxides, economically more important nickel ores are sulfides, especially pentlandite . Major production sites include 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

2360-479: 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

2419-717: 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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2478-429: The largest ore body, contains 88% of the reserves. First Quantum expected an annual production of 39,000 tonnes of nickel for the first five years of production and an average of 28,000 tonnes per year for the mine's projected lifetime of 32 years. The operation was placed on care and maintenance in October 2017 due to sustained nickel prices below the cost of production. Commercial production by First Quantum Minerals

2537-772: 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

2596-400: The lower price was accepted due to fewer conditions being imposed by the tenderer. The sale was completed on 10 February 2010. First Quantum Minerals spent eighteen months implementing extensive modifications to improve the ore processing at the front end of the plant, through the construction of two new crushers, new product storage ponds and a new dewatering facility. Recommissioning began in

2655-416: 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)

2714-446: 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 ,

2773-505: 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

2832-407: 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

2891-472: The reduction in world nickel prices caused by the global economic crisis . The decision cut 1,800 jobs and was expected to have a major impact on the local economy. Nickel prices, having reached a high of US$ 50,000 per tonne in May 2007, had fallen to under $ 11,000 per tonne by the time of the mine's closure. The closure had a devastating effect on the local communities of Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun and led to BHP Billiton being heavily criticised for its handling of

2950-477: 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

3009-539: The second quarter of 2011, with first nickel produced in October 2011. Problems BHP faced in the crushing, beneficiation and rejects plants were successfully resolved. Production resumed in January 2020 with First Quantum Minerals selling a 30% shareholding in the mine to POSCO in May 2021. In January 2024, mining was suspended and 30% of the 420 workforce lost their jobs as a result of weak nickel prices. Processing of existing stockpiles would however continue, which could take up to two years to complete, after which mining

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3068-449: The staff were made redundant. A small team of maintenance personnel continued to keep the site up. In April 2019 the owner announced that "should market conditions continue to improve, Ravensthorpe could resume operation in the first quarter of 2020." In 2021, the mine produced 16,818 contained tonnes of nickel (14,018 payable tonnes). On 14 December 2014 a structural failure was caused by corrosion of an atmospheric leach tank's wall, with

3127-464: 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

3186-471: The subsequent spill contained in the plant's bunded, or protected, area. Nearly 2 Ml (2,000 m) of acidic slurry exited the tank displacing several transformers and inundated electrical substations and steam turbine generators. Operations at the plant were suspended by the Department of Mines & Petroleum . The accident closed the mine for 49 days. The plant operator pleaded guilty to failing to supply

3245-455: 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 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

3304-399: 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

3363-552: 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

3422-427: Was achieved on 28 December 2011. The operation produced 32,884 tonnes of nickel in its first full year of operation in 2012. BHP Billiton, by comparison, produced 14,000 tonnes of nickel from the operation in the nine months the plant operated from its opening in May 2009 before it was mothballed. Citing extended low nickel prices, First Quantum Minerals placed the plant in care and maintenance in October 2017, and most of

3481-429: 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

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