 Discovery Information |
| Who:
Axel Cronstedt
|
| When: 1751 |
| Where: Sweden |
|
| Name Origin |
| German: kupfernickel (false copper); nickel (satan). |
|
| Sources |
| Chiefly found in limonite (Fe,Ni)O(OH), garnierite (Ni,Mg)3Si2O5(OH) and pentlandite [(Ni,Fe)9S8] ore. |
|
| Uses |
| Used in electroplating and metal alloys because of its resistance to corrosion. Also in nickel-cadmium batteries, as a catalyst and for coins. |
|
| Notes |
| Nickel is magnetic (although the US 'nickel' coin is not as it is mostly copper. |
| The largest producer of nickel is Russia which extracts 267,000 tonnes of nickel per year. Australia and Canada are the second and third largest producers, making 207 and 189.3 thousand tonnes per year. |
| Nickel use is ancient, and can be traced back as far as 3500 BC. |
