The main use of nickel is to produce stainless steel, but this metal plays an important role in the global transition to clean energy and power battery production.
In 2020, Elon Musk (Elon Musk), CEO of Tesla, called on mining companies to expand nickel production, making nickel a hot topic in the news. Recently, a report by (Roskill) predicted that the demand for nickel in the electric vehicle industry alone will increase to 2.6 million tons by 2040. At present, there is a surplus in the global nickel market, but there will be a supply shortage by 2027 as demand will accelerate.
Recently, MiningIntelligence selected the world's top 10 nickel mines based on 2020 production, as shown in the table below.
Russia's (Norilsk Nickel) Cora division of Norilsk Nickel topped the list. The Kola branch is located in the Kola Peninsula, near the borders of Russia, Norway and Finland, and consists of five mines in production. The raw materials for the nickel refining base come from two mines, Sevini (Severny) and Kola-Cotswala (Kaula-Kotselvaara). In 2020, Cora produced 172000 tons of nickel, ranking first in the world. Under the pressure of environmental protection, Norilsk has pledged to invest US $5 billion in environmental clean-up in the Kola Peninsula over the next 10 years.
BHP Billiton's Nickel West (Nickel West) production base is made up of three mines, ranking second. Mount case (Mt. Keith) is a large open-pit mining site for low-grade nickel, while high-grade nickel sulphide ore is produced in the Clevers (Cliffs) and Lehnst (Leinster) underground mines and the Rocky Redward (Rocky's Reward) open-pit mine. BHP Billiton is expanding its nickel business, buying nickel mining rights in Western Australia. The output last year was 75000 tons.
In third place is Solovako (Sorowako),. Since 1968, Vale has mined and processed lateritic nickel ores near Solovako on the island of Sulawesi to produce high nickel matte. The products are sold in accordance with long-term agreements. The total area of the region is 190500 hectares, with an annual output of 72000 tons in 2020.
(Nickel Asia), an Asian nickel company, ranks fourth in the Tuba River (Rio Tuba) mine in Palawan province, with an output of 65000 tons in 2020. The open-pit mine exports laterite (humus and limonite) ore and provides limonite and non-mining services to the nearby Coral Bay high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) plant.
In fifth place is Glencore's Shawderberry (Sudbury) integrated nickel production line, which includes the Fraser (Fraser) Nickel Mine, the Nickel Wheel South (Nickel Rim South) Mine, the Strascona (Strathcona) Mill and the Shawdbury smelter. The international miner has been mining copper and nickel in Shawderberry since 1928. These facilities are located in a 60-kilometer stratum called the Shawderberry Basin.
Other mines in the top 10 include:
Elatte's iron and nickel production base in New Caledonia has five mines in production.
Vale's century-old Shaodberg nickel mine;
Glencore's Mulin Mulin (Murrin Murrin) Nickel Mine in Australia;
(Cerro Matoso) opencast pit in Ceramatoso, Colombia;
Vale is located at the (Voisey's Bay) Nickel Mine in Voise Bay, Canada.
The Anglo-American Group's Shangbaro (Barro Alto) nickel mine in Brazil ranks 11th with an annual output of 35000 tons in 2020. IGO Co., Ltd. ranks 12th in the Nova (Nova) nickel-copper-cobalt mine in Western Australia, with a nickel production of 33830 tons in 2020.
