Reports Say World's Nickel Supply Is Diminishing; USGS Maintains It's Not

According to the United States Geological Survey, or USGS, there are about 8.1 million tonnes of Global Nickel Reserves and it pointed that nickel is renewable because scrap is re-melted and recycled for use in stainless steel, among other things, as further stated in USGS Mineral Commodity Summary for Nickel in 2015.

However, a separate report by Statista stated that as of 2012, nickel has 15 remaining life years. An article from Terresacree noted that with the present rate of production of 1.6 tonnes per year, and the remaining life years of nickel can last up to 40 years.

The two reports have brought to light the remaining quantities of the world's supply of nickel, underscoring the need for efficient use of the mineral and more effective means of extracting the remaining reserves.

Nickel is a key ingredient of stainless steel, steel and cast iron alloys, and surface coating. USGS said about 40 percent of nickel is sourced from sulfide deposits, while 60 percent is from laterite deposits. It added that despite current weak prices and an oversupply of the metal, “mining companies continue to bring on new nickel projects in anticipation of a turnaround in the global economy.”

The New World Encyclopedia stated that nickel can be found in the Earth’s core and was said to have been produced by “nuclear reactions that take place within stars,” or the stellar nucleosynthesis. Nickel is a commonly used chemical and an essential factor in everyday living, in the military, aerospace, marine, and architecture. Presently mined nickel generally come from nickel sulphide deposits. Although nickel can come from nickel laetrile deposits, this form is much more difficult to process.

The remaining reserve could change the future of nickel production and that mining companies might have to shift to nickel laterites processing. It may also require mining projects to be conducted in remote areas and in developing countries, although this could pose some problems due to lack of infrastructure.

Sixty-five percent of nickel’s use is involved in the production of stainless steel. Russia tops the world in nickel production. Russia has a mining giant, Norilsk Nickel; it is responsible for an estimated one fifth of global production.

The country has another mining company that can keep up with the global demand. Amur Minerals Corporation (London AIM:AMC) is a mineral exploration and development company, which has a base metal projects in the far east of Russia. Its principal asset is the Kun-Manie nickel copper sulphide project located in Amur Oblast.

The second producer of nickel is Canada with most mining activities occurring in the areas of Manitoba, the Sudbury Basin of Ontario, and the Ungava peninsula of Quebec. Australia is the world’s third producer of nickel and exports its production to Europe, Japan and the United States.

There are also mining companies in the Philippines, Indonesia and New Caledonia. Statistics of 2014 showed that there is 1.4 million tons of primary nickel produced globally.

To contact the writer, email: vittoriohernandez@yahoo.com