Top 10 nickel mining projects in the world
The world's largest nickel suppliers are Indonesia, the Philippines and Russia, but six of the top 10 nickel mining projects this year are in North America;
Top of the list is an undersea deposit in the Clarion Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico.
01 The Clarion Clipperton Zone Polymetallic Project
The project is located in the northeast of the Pacific Ocean at a depth of 4000m ~ 4500m.
Named after the area of the ocean floor between Hawaii and Mexico, the project is in international waters.
Exploration rights are held by Nauru Ocean Resources Inc., or NORI, but Deepgreen Metals has exclusive use rights to the area.
Deep Green Metal's investment also includes the Tonga Offshore Mining Limited (TOML) prospect, which is estimated to contain just under 954,000 tonnes of nickel-containing wet nodule deposits with a grade similar to that of the Nori Clarion-Clipaton deposit.
The Toml Clarion - Clipaton mine is the world's 25th-largest nickel deposit.
02 Dumont Nickel Sulfide Mining Project
The project, located in the Abitibi mine in Canada, is expected to be one of the largest nickel operations in the world once it begins production, with an average annual nickel production of 39,000 tonnes and a life of more than 30 years.
03 The Decar project
Discovered by FPX Nickel in Greenfield, Decca, British Columbia, Canada, the deposit contains almost no sulfides and is mineralized in the form of a natural nickel-iron alloy known as ferro-nickel.
Named after the area where iron-nickel mineralization was found in central British Columbia, the project is expected to produce 37,369 tons of nickel concentrate per year over the 24-year life of the mine.
04 The Turnagain project
The project is another discovery of a similar scale in British Columbia, Canada, with different geological conditions.
Once developed, the nickel sulfide could produce 33,000 tonnes of nickel a year for 37 years, with a maximum annual output of 45,000 tonnes.
05 Twin Metals Project
Antofagasta's bimetallic project is located in the Duluth Complex mining Complex in Minnesota, USA.
The proposed mine has been under scrutiny for years and was halted under President Barack Obama amid a public outcry over its environmental risks.
However, it was later revived by the Trump administration.
06 The Sangaji deposit
The project is owned by Aneka Tambang, an Indonesian miner.
07 Goongarrie nickel-cobalt project
The project is Ardea Resources' flagship project in the Kalgoorlie region of Australia.
08 The Crawford project
The project is owned by Canada Nickel and is located in the Timmin-Cochrane mine cluster in Ontario.
09 The Mesaba project
The project, owned by Teck Resources, is the largest sulfide deposit in Duluth, Minnesota.
010 The Wingellina deposit
The project is part of Metals X's Central Musgrave project in Australia.
Of the top 10 nickel projects, four are in the advanced exploration stage: Nori Clarion-Clipaton, Sanjiaji, Crawford and Mesaba.
In Canada, two projects in Britain have entered the preliminary economic assessment (PEA) stage;
The remaining projects are in the pre-feasibility study (PFS) or feasibility study (FS) stage.
BHP Billiton's (BHPY) YakabIndie deposit, which is part of the global mining company's Nickel West project in Australia and is currently in the advanced exploration stage, was a notable addition to the top 10.
PUDA Nickle concentrate packing machine:
