Did You Know?
. . . that nickel is a natural part of our air, water and soil? It's a Natural Nickel Fact
Nickel Magazine, June, 2003 -- It ranges widely depending upon
where you are in the world, but on average, the abundance of nickel in soil is 5 to 500
parts per million. In natural river water, nickel is about 0.3 parts per million.
Source: "Introduction to Exploration Geochemistry," by A. A. Levinson, University of Calgary, 1974. (Tabel
2-1, p. 43)
Expert Dialogue:
Dr. Bruce Conard
Vice President, Environmental and Health Sciences
Inco Limited
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Listen to interview (6:05)
RealAudio (749 kB)
"Nickel is present in the crust, usually in association with iron, magnesium, silicon . . . these are
called mafic or ultramafic rocks. . . Over the billions of years that the Earth's crust has been in existence
. . . these rocks would erode and various chemical reactions occurred to form soils. . . If you go out in
your backyard and take soil samples from well under the surface . . you're always going to be able to
find nickel. It may vary in concentration. It's not at all mineable or of geological interest at all, but if
you submit it to a laboratory, they will always come back and tell you there are a certain number of parts
per million nickel. All soils, and all sediments, and all waters in the world contain nickel. The question is
how much and what variety and what form?"
Download a Real Player here. Look for the link entitled "Free RealOne Player."
|
<<
Previous -- Main Index Page -- Next >>
