Nickel: World Mine Production, By Country

TABLE 10
NICKEL: WORLD MINE PRODUCTION, BY COUNTRY^{1, 2}

(Metric tons of contained nickel)

Country and products³	2009		2010		2011		2012		2013
Albania, laterite ore^e	1,000		3,000		3,000	^r	2,000	^r	2,000	^p
Australia, ores and concentrate⁴	165,000		170,100	^r	215,000	^r	246,000		234,234
Botswana, ore milled	28,595		24,931	^r	15,675		17,948		22,848	^p
Brazil, ore	41,059		108,983		131,673		139,230		104,829	^p
Burma, ore^{e, 5, 6}	10		--		800		5,000		9,300	^p
Canada, concentrate	135,037		160,063		219,025		211,701	^r	223,295
China^e	84,800		79,600	^r	89,800	^{r, p}	93,300		107,000
Colombia, laterite ore^e	79,900	^r	76,200	^r	76,000	^r	84,000		84,700
Cuba, recoverable laterite:^e
Limonitic	32,100		32,500		38,100		35,700		34,500
Serpentinic	37,900		37,200		34,400		32,500		31,500
Total	70,000		69,700		72,500		68,200		66,000
Dominican Republic, laterite ore	500		--		21,693		25,590		15,825
Finland, concentrate⁷	4,400	^r	29,448		63,209		46,755		46,000	^e
Greece, laterite ore	10,203		16,345		21,710		21,980	^r	19,100	^e
Guatemala, laterite ore	--		--		--		2,400	^{r, p, 8}	10,200	^e
Indonesia, laterite ore⁹	202,800		300,800	^r	564,400	^r	648,400	^r	834,200
Kazakhstan, laterite ore^e	500		500		500		450		450
Kosovo, laterite ore	10,423	^r	9,081	^r	7,728	^r	4,436	^r	7,606
Macedonia, ferronickel produced¹⁰	11,762	^r	14,413		17,292		19,427		20,001
Madagascar, laterite ore	--		2,000	^e	5,900		8,365	^r	29,248
Morocco, nickel sulfate	733		317		217		288	^r	175
New Caledonia, ore	95,649	^r	131,309	^r	128,732	^r	131,693	^r	164,406	^p
Norway, concentrate	336	^r	351		339		351		335
Papua New Guinea, ore	--		--		--		5,283	^{r, 11}	11,369	¹¹
Philippines:
Laterite ore^{12, 13}	122,709	^r	153,679	^r	296,569		293,731		289,613
Concentrate¹⁴	17,035	^r	19,312	^r	22,794		23,890		26,020
Total	139,744	^r	172,991	^r	319,363		317,621		315,633
Russia, marketable mine production:
Laterite ore¹⁵	32,298	^r	41,184	^r	41,777		28,210		27,500	^e
Sulfide concentrate¹⁶	229,493		228,093		225,616		217,085		215,000	^e
Total	261,791	^r	269,277	^r	267,393		245,295		243,000	^e
South Africa, concentrate	34,605		39,960		43,321		45,945		51,208
Spain, concentrate¹⁷	8,035		5,402	^r	--		2,397	^r	7,564
Turkey, laterite ore^e	1,199	^{r, 18}	1,900	^r	4,300	^r	3,490	^r	3,500
United States, concentrate	--		--		--		--		4,090	¹⁹
Venezuela, laterite ore	13,200	^r	11,400		19,500		6,060		6,000	^e
Vietnam, concentrate	--		--		--		335		6,932
Zambia, concentrate²⁰	280	^e	2,482		2,724		--		--
Zimbabwe, concentrate	4,858		6,200	^e	7,992		7,899		14,058
Total, grand	1,410,000	^r	1,710,000	^r	2,320,000	^r	2,410,000	^r	2,660,000
Of which:
Concentrate²¹	434,000	^r	491,000	^r	585,000		556,000	^r	595,000
Ore and ore milled²²	165,000	^r	265,000	^r	277,000	^r	299,000	^r	313,000
Laterite ore	545,000	^r	686,000	^r	1,140,000	^r	1,200,000	^r	1,400,000
Ferronickel produced	11,800	^r	14,400		17,300		19,400		20,000
Nickel sulfate	733		317		217		288	^r	175
Unspecified and (or) undifferentiated²³	250,000	^r	250,000	^r	305,000	^r	339,000	^r	341,000
^eEstimated. ^pPreliminary. ^rRevised. -- Zero.
¹Grand totals and estimated data are rounded to no more than three significant digits; may not add to totals shown.
²Insofar as possible, this table represents recoverable mine production of nickel. Where actual mine output is not available, data-
related to a more highly processed form have been used to provide an indication of the magnitude of mine output and this-
is noted.-
³North Korea may have an active nickel mine, but information is inadequate to make reliable estimates of output. Includes
-data available through October 16, 2015.
⁴Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) data for mines in Western Australia and Tasmania.

TABLE 10-Continued
NICKEL: WORLD MINE PRODUCTION, BY COUNTRY^{1, 2}

⁵Burma-s new Tagaung Taung Mine is a joint project of the Government of Burma, China-s Taiyuan Iron & Steel, and the China-
Nonferrous Metal Mining Group (CNMC). The joint venture officially began recovering laterite ore on March 27, 2011.
The nickel content of the ore mined and the nickel content of ferronickel produced were reported by the Government.-
⁶Numbers have been adjusted to take into account data received from individual company sources as well as trade statistics.
⁷The gross weight of concentrates processed in Finland from domestic ores was, in metric tons, as follows: 2009-43,000
-(estimated); 2010-43,151; 2011-87,974; 2012-99,089; and 2013-137,911.
⁸In 2012, Cunico Resources Group N.V. acquired Guaxilan, S.A. and began mining high-grade saprolitic ores for export to
Eastern Europe. Solway Investment Group Ltd. was also active in Guatemala and began upgrading the long-dormant Fenix Mine
and ferronickel plant west of El Estor.
⁹Includes a small amount of cobalt that was not recovered separately.
¹⁰Cunico Resources Group extracts nickel ore from its open pit Rzanovo Mine and transports the ore by conveyor to its FeNi
Industries pyrometallurgical facility in Kavadarci. At the Kavadarci plant, the Rzanovo ore is blended with higher grade imported-
ores from Albania, Indonesia, New Caledonia, and Turkey to optimize production.
¹¹In 2012, the Ramu joint venture began piping slurried ore from the new Kurumbukari Mine to the treatment plant at Basamuk
for leaching in autoclaves.
¹²Source: Philippines Mines and Geosciences Bureau. Significant discrepancies exist between two data series owing to a number
of factors. These factors include (1) end-of-year delays and carryovers; (2) excess water absorption on exposed landing craft
vessels and barges; and (3) possible irregularities in submitting customs documents, with regard to country of origin or type of-
ore.
¹³The bulk of the ore production is unprocessed, or minimally processed, direct-shipping ores.
¹⁴Nickel content of concentrate produced at Rio Tuba in 2009-13 by Coral Bay Nickel Corp.
¹⁵Nickel content of ore mined in the Ural Mountains region.
¹⁶Nickel content of concentrate produced on the Kola and Taimyr Peninsulas.
¹⁷In December 2010, Rio Narcea Recursos, S.A. suspended production at its Aguablanca open pit mine after heavy rainfall-
caused a major slope failure on the main access ramp. Mining resumed in August 2011, but milling operations did not-
restart until the third quarter of 2012.
¹⁸Reported figure.
¹⁹In 2013 Lundin Mining Co. began recovering nickel-copper ore from the Eagle Mine in Michigan. The concentrator at the-
Humboldt mill, however, did not begin processing the ore until the third quarter of 2014. The nickel content of the ore was
4,093 metric tons.
²⁰Albidon Limited concentrates were shipped to Jinchuan, China. First production was in June 2008. The concentrate produced-
in 2010 averaged 8.39% nickel. The Munali Mine was on care and maintenance from March to December 2009 until-
rampup problems were resolved and world nickel prices recovered.-
²¹Includes -Russia, sulfide concentrate.-
²²Excludes -Australia, ores and concentrate.-
²³Includes -Australia, ores and concentrate.-