Did You Know?
. . . that nickel is the fifth most common element in the Earth? It's a Natural Nickel Fact
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Nickel Magazine, June, 2003 -- In the Earth's crust,
that geologically thin layer of solid rock that we live on, nickel occurs naturally in combination
with other crystaline elements. These combinations of elements are chemical compounds called minerals. There
are 165 scientifically named minerals which contain nickel and another 67 nickel-bearing minerals which
remain unnamed. The ones that are most commonly mined are pentlandite and garnierite.
Although nickel is common, it is widely distributed. On average, the Earth's crust contains
just 75 parts per million nickel. That's 0.0075% nickel.
Taking the entire Earth into consideration (including the mantle and core along with the crust), nickel is
the fifth most common element. Only iron, oxygen, silicon and magnesium are more abundant.
| Expert Dialogue: Dr. A. (Tony) J. Naldrett |
