How are nickel resources distributed on the earth?

The world's nickel resource reserves are very rich, and the content in the earth's crust is quite large, but it is much less than oxygen, silicon, aluminum, iron, and magnesium.

The core contains the highest nickel, which is a natural nickel-iron alloy. The content of nickel in the earth's crust is 0.018%. Magnesium rocks in the earth's crust contain more nickel than siliceous rocks. For example, peridotite contains 1,000 times the nickel of granite, and gabbro contains 80 times that of granite.

In the distribution of nickel ore resources in the world, laterite nickel ore accounts for about 55%, sulfide-type nickel ore accounts for 28%, and nickel in seafloor iron-manganese nodules accounts for 17%. Due to factors such as mining technology and marine pollution, the seabed iron-manganese nodules have not yet been actually developed.

According to data released by the US Geological Survey in 2015, the world's proven basic nickel reserves are about 81 million tons, and the total resources are 148 million tons. About 60% of the basic reserves are laterite nickel ore and about 40% are nickel sulfide ore.

The distribution of nickel mineral resources in the world is extremely uneven, mainly concentrated in Canada, Russia, Australia, Cuba, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Africa, China, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, Brazil and other countries, which together account for about 90% of the proven roadbed reserves. There are few reserves in other countries and regions.

Distribution of world nickel resource reserves in 2020 Source: https://www.statista.com/

Regional distribution of nickel resources

1. Nickel sulfide ore

Jinchuan nickel deposit belt in Gansu province, China; Panshi nickel deposit belt in Jilin province; Sudbury nickel deposit belt in Ontario, Canada; Lynn Lake-Thompson nickel deposit belt in Linlake, Manitoba, Canada; Soviet Union The Kojia Peninsula nickel deposit belt; the HophHjibck nickel deposit belt in Siberia, Russia; the KaMbalda nickel deposit belt in Australia; the Selebi Phikwe nickel deposit belt in Botswana; Finland Kotalahti nickel belt.

2. Laterite nickel ore

New Caledonia nickel mining area in the South Pacific; Moluccas and Sulawesi nickel mining belts in Indonesia; Palawan nickel mining belts in the Philippines; Australian nickel mining belts Queensland nickel belt; Minas Gerais and Goias nickel belt in Brazil; Oriente nickel belt in Cuba; Bannan in Dominica Banan) area nickel ore belt; Greece's Layema ​​(Lary mma) area nickel ore belt; and some nickel ore belts in countries such as the Soviet Union and Albania.

Country distribution of nickel resources

1. Laterite type mine:

Mainly distributed in Cuba, New Caledonia, Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam, Brazil and other countries near the equator.

2. Sulfide type ore:

Mainly distributed in countries such as Canada, Russia, Australia, China and South Africa.

According to 2015 data from the US Geological Survey, global nickel reserves are 81 million tons, of which Australia 19 million tons, New Caledonia 12 million tons, Brazil 9.1 million tons, Russia 7.9 million tons, and Cuba 5.5 million tons.

China's nickel reserves

China's sulfide-type nickel ore resources are relatively rich, mainly distributed in the northwest, southwest, and northeast. The proportion of retained reserves in the country's total reserves is 76.8%, 12.1%, and 4.9%, respectively. In terms of provinces (regions), Gansu has the largest reserves, accounting for 62% of the country’s total nickel reserves (including Jinchang’s nickel production scale ranking second in the world), followed by Xinjiang (11.6%), Yunnan (8.9%), Jilin (4.4%), Hubei (3.4%) and Sichuan (3.3%).

China's nickel ore distribution map

The three major nickel mines in China are: Jinchuan Nickel Mine, Kalatongke Nickel Mine, and Huangshan Nickel Mine. The main manufacturers are: Jinchuan Group Co., Ltd., Jilin Jien Nickel Industry Co., Ltd., Xinjiang Nonferrous Metals Industry (Group) Fukang Smelter.

Jinchuan Group is China's largest producer of electrolytic nickel, mainly producing nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum group precious metals, non-ferrous metal rolled products, chemical products, non-ferrous metal chemicals, etc. At present, the annual nickel output of Jinchuan Group ranks 4th in the world, and it has formed an annual production capacity of 150,000 tons of nickel. The Jinchuan nickel-copper mine owned by Jinchuan Group is a world-renowned large-scale polymetallic symbiotic sulfide mine with a proven resource of 520 million tons. At present, Jinchuan Group has 430 million tons of ore resources, of which 4.5 million tons of nickel metal resources. In 2012, the company's nickel output was 135,000 tons, and in 2013 it was 141,000 tons.

At the same time, China is also one of the countries where laterite nickel resources are relatively scarce. At present, the country’s laterite nickel ore reserves only account for 9.6% of all nickel resources. Not only is the reserve relatively small, but the domestic laterite nickel ore grade is relatively low, and the mining cost is relatively high. , Which means that China is not competitive in laterite nickel mines. China is also a major producer of stainless steel products. Laterite nickel ore is the main source of ferronickel, and ferronickel is the main raw material of stainless steel. Therefore, China needs to import a large amount of laterite nickel ore to develop the stainless steel industry every year. The main importing countries are Indonesia, Australia and the Philippines.

Jinchang, Gansu-China's nickel capital

Jinchang City is located in the eastern section of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province. It is rich in mineral resources. Nickel resources are particularly abundant. It is known as the "Nickel Capital" of China. The Jinchang Nickel Mine is rich in reserves and huge in scale, second only to the Sudbury Mine in Canada, ranking second in the world and first in the country. In addition, the reserves of 20 kinds of minerals including platinum, palladium, bentonite, cobalt, selenium, copper, associated sulfur and granite materials rank first in the country, and the reserves of minerals such as copper and cobalt rank second in the country.

Winland Metal is headquartered in Jiangxi, China. It mainly supplies various metal products, including pipes, rods, plates, pipe fittings, etc., to domestic and foreign customers.