project nickel

8/3/2019 Project Nickel

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

a. How did the specific element originate?.............................3

b. In which area is the element mined?..................................4

c. How is the element mined?.................................................5

d.What use does the element have for humans?...................6

e.Does the use this element have any disadvantage to

humans?.............................................................................7,8

f. Does the mining of this element hold any negative impact on

the environment?................................................................9

g.Bibliography..10


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ORIGINES OF NICKLE

Nickel is the fifth most common element in the Earth. But where did all this

nickel come from? Billions of years ago, nickel was created in supernova

explosions, (Supernovas are exploding stars). This is the only place in

nature where the temperature and pressure conditions were sufficient for

the nickel atom to form.

How interstellar nickel coalesced into solid objects and then into planets

such as the Earth is the domain of cosmologists and astronomers. But

however it happened, nickel has been an important part of the Earth since

its beginning, well before life on earth began.


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WHERE IS NICKEL MINED

Nkomati mine- South Africa

Nkomati, a Nickel Mine owned by African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo

American plc, and Mining and Metallurgical Company Norilsk Nickel, is

located between Badplaas and Waterval-Boven in South Africa. Nkomati

primarily produces Nickel and is also active in Cobalt, Copper and chrome

production.


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HOW IS NICKEL MINED

Nickel is mined using open pit and underground mining. When the ore is

mined, the nickel has to be taken out of it. There are different ways to get

the nickel out of ore. One way is smelting where the ore is heated with

chemicals until it separates from the ore. Sometimes very high heat will be

enough to cause the ore to separate from the nickel without using

chemicals.

Examples of open pit mines


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USES OF NICKLE

Nickel is used in stainless steel, glassmaking, magnets, bullet-proof safes,

coins, and rechargeable batteries. Most nickel is combined with other

metals when it is used.


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IMPACT THAT NICKEL HAS ON HUMANS

If you eat a lot of chocolate, nuts, dried beans, peas and grains, then you're consuming about

900 micrograms of nickel every day. That's because the plants that these foods are derived

from tend to accumulate more nickel from the soil than other plants. More conventional diets

provide about 150 micrograms of nickel per day. Nickel is also found in small amounts in

drinking water, milk and other beverages such as coffee, tea, soft drinks, beer and wine.

Nickel is found today in many foods and beverages that are derived from plants.

Since it is an integral part of vegetation, nickel is part of many animals diet, including ours. We

are being advised to eat more fruit and vegetables in our diet. This means that we are being

invited to eat more nickel. Having chocolate with your morning coffee, for example, will give

you a good slug of nickel because nickel is in the chocolate and in the coffee.


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Animals, including humans, maintain their balance of metals by excreting the excess. If nickel

is coming in one end it is also going out the other. There is nickel in dung and nickel in urine.

This means that there is nickel in manure, compost and other natural fertilisers. Nickel is in the

soil and is organically cycled back into the soil.

ADVANTAGES OF NICKEL

Theoretically, all metals can be reused over and over without diminishing

their intrinsic properties. However, only metals with a high economic value

tend to be collected for reuse or recycle. That's why nickel is among the

most highly recycled metals in the world today. Most recycled nickel ends

up in stainless steel.

Since they resist corrosion, and have good strength, ductility and

toughness, nickel stainless steels are used in a wide range of water

treatment equipment that is designed to have a long operating life.

Stainless steels are used every day in desalination plants and other

drinking/potable water treatment plants as well as facilities where


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wastewaters are treated before they are released into the natural

environment.

NICKEL MINING EFFECTS ON THE

ENVIRONMENT

y Mining nickel is associated with asbestos.

y Asbestos mining causes the dispersal of asbestos into theenvironment. This will cause deaths among local residents andworkers, often several decades later. Fortunately, the mining and useof asbestos are banned in most parts of the world.

y It destroys forest and wetlands.

y It may mean that you have to cut down lots of trees just to get to thespot that has all the gold or iron ore.

y Many mine require tailings dams to prevent waste being washed into

the rivers. Unethical miners can dispense with the dams, to savecosts, resulting in massive pollution downstream. In other cases, thetailings dam can overflow, and even breach, during periods of heavyrain.

y Underground coal mining can require the removal of almost an entirelayer of material deep under the surface. When the timber supportscollapse, this can lead to subsidence. The subsidence can meaneconomic loss to people above or damage to natural areas. It caneven cause cracks in river beds, leading to loss of river flow.

y Some mining involves the inadvertent dispersal of heavy metals, suchas lead, into the atmosphere. This can have serious health effects,including mental retardation in children.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Davis, Joseph R (2000). "Uses of Nickel".ASM Specialty Handbook:

Nickel, Cobalt, and Their Alloys. ASM International. pp. 713.

2. "The Extraction of Nickel from its Ores by the Mond Process".Nature

59: 63. 1898

3. Pagel, Bernard Ephraim Julius. "Further burning stages: evolution ofmassive stars". Nucleosynthesis and chemical evolution of galaxies.

pp.154160

4. Nkomati web site:

http://www.mpumalangacompanies.co.za/pls/cms/ti_company_search

.company_display_province?p_c_id=1430&p_site_id=150

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