PHILIPPINE NICKEL CONCENTRATE PRODUCTION

Nickel is silvery-white. hard, malleable, and ductile metal. It is of the iron group and it takes on a high polish. It is a fairly good conductor of heat and electricity. In its familiar compounds nickel is bivalent, although it assumes other valences. It also forms a number of complex compounds. Most nickel compounds are blue or green. Nickel dissolves slowly in dilute acids but, like iron, becomes passive when treated with nitric acid. Finely divided nickel adsorbs hydrogen.

Nickel is a chemical element in the periodic table with the symbol Ni, Nickel is, like cobalt, named after a German goblin, 'Nickl' or 'Nickel'. Nickel often occurs as a shiny mineral containing arsenic. When processed, however, the mineral does not yield any 'useful' precious metal, but toxic garlic stench instead (from the arsenic compounds). Nickel was identified by Alexander Cronstedt in 1751, and characterised by Tornbern Bergmann.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Source: Mines and Geosciences Bureau
Issued on: February 19, 2010