108
NICKEL
(Data in metric tons of nickel content unless otherwise noted)
Domestic Production and Use:
The United States did not have any active nickel mines in 2009. Limited amounts of
byproduct nickel were recovered from copper and palladium-platinum ores mined in the Western United States. On a
monthly or annual basis, 111 facilities reported nickel consumption. The principal consuming State was Pennsylvania,
followed by Kentucky, West Virginia, and Illinois. Approximately 45% of the primary nickel consumed went into
stainless and alloy steel production, 39% into nonferrous alloys and superalloys, 11% into electroplating, and 5% into
other uses. End uses were as follows: transportation, 32%; chemical industry, 14%; electrical equipment, 10%;
construction, 8%; fabricated metal products, 8%; petroleum industry, 8%; household appliances, 6%; machinery, 6%;
and other, 8%. The estimated value of apparent primary consumption was $1.32 billion.
Salient Statistics—United States:
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
e
Production,
refinery
byproduct
W W W W W
Shipments of purchased scrap
1
142,000 145,000 185,000 159,000 138,000
Imports:
Primary
143,000 153,000 125,000 129,000 96,800
Secondary
15,500 20,300 16,200 20,100 18,000
Exports:
Primary
7,630 8,050 13,100 11,600 6,980
Secondary
55,600 59,300 103,000 94,600 92,700
Consumption: Reported, primary
100,000 105,000 98,600 93,800 70,500
Reported,
secondary
102,000 106,000 98,600 84,500 63,500
Apparent,
primary
135,000 144,000 114,000 118,000 88,100
Total
2
237,000 250,000 213,000 202,000 152,000
Price, average annual, London Metal Exchange:
Cash, dollars per metric ton
14,738
24,244
37,216
21,104
14,941
Cash, dollars per pound
6.685
10.997
16.881
9.572
6.777
Stocks:
Consumer,
yearend
12,900 13,500 13,600 12,900 14,100
Producer, yearend
3
5,940 6,450 3,990 4,050 4,400
Net import reliance
4
as a percentage of
apparent
consumption
48 50 22 34 18
Recycling:
About 63,500 tons of nickel was recovered from purchased scrap in 2009. This represented about 42% of
reported secondary plus apparent primary consumption for the year.
Import Sources (2005-08):
Canada, 44%; Russia, 15%; Australia, 9%; Norway, 9%; and other, 23%.
Tariff:
Item
Number
Normal Trade Relations
12-31-09
Nickel oxide, chemical grade
2825.40.0000
Free.
Ferronickel
7202.60.0000
Free.
Nickel oxide, metallurgical grade
7501.20.0000
Free.
Unwrought nickel, not alloyed
7502.10.0000
Free.
Depletion Allowance:
22% (Domestic), 14% (Foreign).
Government Stockpile:
The U.S. Government sold the last of the nickel in the National Defense Stockpile in 1999.
The U.S. Department of Energy is holding 8,800 tons of nickel ingot contaminated by low-level radioactivity plus 5,080
tons of contaminated shredded nickel scrap. Planned decommissioning activities at former nuclear defense sites are
expected to generate an additional 20,000 tons of nickel in shredded scrap.
Events, Trends, and Issues:
In late 2008, the United States was in a severe recession. U.S. raw steel production
collapsed in the fall of 2008, and by yearend, capacity utilization at U.S. steelworks had dropped to 41% from the
January-August plateau of 90%. The niche market for stainless steel, only 2% of total U.S. steel consumption, fared
somewhat better than the much larger market for carbon steel. U.S. production of austenitic (nickel-bearing) stainless
steel slipped to 1.29 million tons in 2008, only 4% less than the 1.35 million tons in 2007. Stainless steel has
traditionally accounted for two-thirds of primary nickel use worldwide, with more than one-half of the steel going into
the construction, food processing, and transportation sectors. The European Union produced 5.79 million tons of
austenitic stainless steel in 2008, followed by China with 5.40 million tons. By February 2009, the recession had
spread globally, causing both world sales of stainless steel and the price of nickel to plunge. The global steel industry
produced only 10.8 million tons of stainless steel in the first half of 2009, 27% less than that in the first half of 2008.
Prepared by
Peter H. Kuck [(703) 648-4965, pkuck@usgs.gov, fax: (703) 648-7757]
109
NICKEL
In March 2009, the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash mean for 99.8%-pure nickel averaged $9,693 per metric ton
($4.40 per pound), compared with $27,680 per metric ton ($12.56 per pound) in January 2008. In the third quarter of
2009, the global economy stopped contracting and slowly began to turn upward—in part owing to stimulus programs
funded by at least 23 National Governments. In October 2009, the LME cash mean averaged $18,520 per metric ton
($8.40 per pound), up 91% from the mean for March 2009. At yearend 2009, high unemployment and tight credit
continued to hobble several of the more developed economies, weakening demand for nickel. A leading nickel
producer halted production at its new Ravensthorpe Mine in Western Australia after nickel prices dropped sharply and
has put the $2.2 billion operation up for sale. Several competitors suspended or slowed work on greenfield nickel
mining projects in Canada, Guatemala, Vietnam, and Zambia. Mine development and construction of downstream
facilities, however, continued at laterite projects in Brazil, Madagascar, and Turkey. Nickel prices remained subdued
throughout the summer of 2009, despite a labor strike at a key nickel smelting and refining complex in Canada.
Several North American automobile manufacturers were in financial trouble and began switching production to
smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles to boost sales. Some dealers had to put buyers on waiting lists for the more
popular hybrid motor vehicles. Nickel-metal hydride batteries continued to be widely used in the latest hybrids, despite
inroads made by lithium-ion batteries. Financially strapped airlines cut back, postponed, or canceled orders for new
aircraft, reducing demand for nickel-based superalloys. Environmental concerns and increasing prices for natural gas
have triggered a renaissance in the nuclear power industry. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission was actively
reviewing 13 applications from utilities wanting to construct 22 new nuclear reactors—facilities that would require
sizeable amounts of austenitic stainless steel and other nickel-bearing alloys.
World Mine Production and Reserves:
Estimates of reserves for Canada, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and
Venezuela were revised based on new mining industry information from published sources.
Mine production
Reserves
5
2008
2009
e
United States
—
—
—
Australia 200,000
167,000
26,000,000
Botswana 38,000
36,000
490,000
Brazil 58,500
56,700
4,500,000
Canada 260,000
181,000
4,100,000
China 68,400
84,300
1,100,000
Colombia 76,400
93,000
1,700,000
Cuba 67,300
65,000
5,500,000
Dominican Republic
31,300
—
840,000
Greece 18,600
14,000
490,000
Indonesia 193,000
189,000
3,200,000
New Caledonia
6
103,000
107,000
7,100,000
Philippines 83,900
85,000
940,000
Russia 277,000
266,000
6,600,000
South Africa
31,700
34,000
3,700,000
Spain 8,140
7,800
57,000
Venezuela 13,000
12,000
490,000
Other countries
46,000
28,600
3,800,000
World total (rounded)
1,570,000 1,430,000
71,000,000
World Resources:
Identified land-based resources averaging 1% nickel or greater contain at least 130 million tons of
nickel. About 60% is in laterites and 40% is in sulfide deposits. In addition, extensive deep-sea resources of nickel are
in manganese crusts and nodules covering large areas of the ocean floor, particularly in the Pacific Ocean.
Substitutes:
To offset high nickel prices, engineers have been substituting low-nickel, duplex, or ultrahigh-chromium
stainless steels for austenitic grades in a few construction applications. Nickel-free specialty steels are sometimes
used in place of stainless steel within the power-generating and petrochemical industries. Titanium alloys or specialty
plastics can substitute for nickel metal or nickel-based alloys in highly corrosive chemical environments. Cost savings
in manufacturing lithium-ion batteries allow them to compete against NiMH in certain applications.
e
Estimated. W Withheld to avoid disclosing company proprietary data. — Zero.
1
Scrap receipts – shipments by consumers + exports – imports + adjustments for consumer stock changes.
2
Apparent primary consumption + reported secondary consumption.
3
Stocks of producers, agents, and dealers held only in the United States.
4
Defined as imports – exports + adjustments for Government and industry stock changes.
See Appendix C for definitions.
Reserve base estimates were discontinued in 2009; see
6
Overseas territory of France.
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2010