Industrial process

First, nickel-bearing ore is sent for mechanical separation (milling or upgrading), where the ore is crushed and waste rock is removed from the valuable nickel ore.

After this stage, nickel is recovered from the ore through an extraction process. Historically, a heat-based smelting process (pyrometallurgy) is used to treat sulfide ores, although Vale is developing a water-based leaching process (hydrometallurgy) to treat sulfide ores in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. For laterite ores, either a pyrometallurgical or hydrometallurgical process is used depending on the composition of the ore body.

Finally, the material is sent for further refining and impurity removal to produce a refined, saleable nickel product.

Electrolytic refining is a process where impure nickel anode from the smelter is dissolved and electrodeposited out of solution to produce pure nickel. The process yields high purity nickel cathodes and rounds that are sold predominantly to the electroplating industry.

Carbonyl refining, a unique gas refining process that produces the purest forms of nickel available, is used to produce nickel for the electroplating, superalloy, stainless steel and other melting industries, as well as nickel powders.