Everything you need to know about Nickel

The making of nickel is a process which involves a number of steps:

1. Mining

Nickel mined from lateritic ore is mined from various depths beneath the surface using large earth-moving equipment. The other nickel containing type of ore, sulfidic ore, is usually found in combination with copper ore and is mined underground.
Nickel from lateritic ore is extracted trough extractive metallurgy. It is extracted from its ores trough a conventional roasting method which removes the moisture from the ore. Next the nickel oxide is removed by reduction furnace which also greatly reduces the chemical bound water. Resulting in a 75% pure form of nickel.
The extraction of nickel from the sulfidic ore requires a different method. Current methods include both flash and electric smelting. The ore is placed in the furnace which already contains pre-heated oxygen. This smelting process will cause the iron and sulfide to oxidize resulting in 45% nickel. During the final step oxygen is injected in the molten bath, which will eliminate any of the remaining traces of iron and sulfide.

2. Refining

After the mining and processing of either the lateritic ore or sulfidic ore there remains nickel matte. Through further refining a 95% pure nickel can be obtained by using the fluid bed roasting technique.
The use of electric cells allows for a better refining process. The electrical cells equipped with inert cathodes removes the final impurities from the nickel, resulting in a high quality nickel. This refining process is quickly becoming the standard method in the industry.