Nickel Reserves
Top 10 countries have the most Ni reserve:
| Country | Reserve/2021 Production (M Metric Tonnes) | Mines | Customer |
| Colombia | 0.3/0.0341 | Cerro Matoso mine located in Montelíbano, Colombia. owned by South32 Limited (OTC:SOUHY) Run by OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel (LSE:MNOD), Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE), and Glencore plc (OTC:GLNCY) | |
| United States | 0.34/0.018 | Eagle mine in Michigan | US imported Ni from Canada, 10% from Norway, 9% from Finland, 8% from Australia, and the rest of world |
| Canada | 2/0.59 | Voisey’s Bay Mine, owned by Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE), followed by Raglan Mines and Sudbury Area Mine owned by Glencore plc (OTC:GLNCY) | export to US, China, Netherlands, Belgium, and Japan |
| China | 2.8/0.12 | ||
| Philippines | 4.8/0.37 | Run by OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel (LSE:MNOD), Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE), and Glencore plc (OTC:GLNCY) | Mainly exported to China; at 89% for total China’s import |
| New Caledonia | 7.1/0.2 (2020) | Goro mine | China, South Korea, Japan, France |
| Russia | 7.5/0.25 (2021) | Oktyabrsky Mine, Komsomolsky Mine Taimyrsky Mine Skalisty Mine Kola MMC Mine; Owned by OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel | 39% output to Germany |
| Brazil | 16/0.1 | Barro Alto Mine Owned by Anglo American plc (LSE:AAL.L) | |
| Australian | 21/0.16 | Avebury mine | 20% of whole world production |
| Indonesia | 21/1 |
Top Companies
| Rank | Company | Production (K tonnes) | Mines/projects |
| 10 | Metallurgical Corporation of China Ltd. (OTC:MLLUY); its nickel and cobalt project is handled through its subsidiary, Ramu Nico Management (MCC) Limited | 26.35; 85% X 31 from Ramu Nickel-Cobalt Project | Ramu Nico project in Papua New Guinea. Also operates several mining projects in Pakistan and Afghanistan, including Saindak Copper-Gold Mine Project, Duddar Lead-Zinc Mine Project, and Aynak Copper Mine Project. |
| 9 | Terrafame; established by the Finnish government. | 28.7 | Talvivaara mine; considered Europe’s largest mine deposit |
| 8 | IGO Limited (ASX:IGO.AX); Australian mining company | 29 | Nova nickel-copper-cobalt project in Western Australia |
| 7 | South32 Limited (OTC:SOUHY) | 34.1 | Cerro Matoso mine in Colombia |
| 6 | ERAMET S.A. (OTC:ERMAY); a French metals and mining company; the company’s nickel production is looked over by its subsidiary, Société Le Nickel (SLN) | 39 | Five mines in New Caledonia |
| 5 | Anglo American plc (OTC:NGLOY); a British metals and mining company | 41.7 | Two types fo Ni: Ferronickel in Brazil and South African operations produce nickel sulfate as a by-product |
| 4 | BHP Group Limited (NYSE:BHP); an Australian metals and mining company | 89 | |
| 3 | Glencore plc (OTC:GLNCY); a Swiss metals and mining company | 102.3 | Murrin Murrin mines |
| 2 | Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE); a Brazilian multinational metals and mining company. | 168 | its mines in Canada, Brazil, and Indonesia |
| 1 | OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel (LSE:MNOD); a Russian mining and smelting company and is the world’s largest nickel mining company. | 193 | Siberian mine located in Norilsk and Talnakh; also have operations in Russia, Finland, and South Africa |
Extraction
There are two types of Nickel ores: Nickel laterites (oxides) and magmatic sulfide deposits (Sulfides) (reference)
The most important sulfide ore is pentlandite(Ni9S8) although many other nickel sulfides are known. Furthermore, nickel is often a constituent of iron sulfides such as pyrrhotite. Pentlandite supplies an estimated 65% of the world’s nicke
The major nickel oxides are nickeliferous limonite ((Fe1−xNix)O(OH)·nH2O). Oxides ore, nickel laterites, constitutes the largest reserves (70%).
Sulfide ores are subjected to comminution followed by froth flotation. Pentlandite and related minerals separate with sulfides of copper, cobalt, and iron. The process is similar to the extraction of copper. (Reference)