Nickel is a silvery white, naturally occurring metallic element with a light golden tinge. There are two main types of nickel deposits, laterite and sulphide, each requiring a different extraction technique.

Nickel sulphide deposits can be found all over the world including Western Australia, South Africa, Canada and Russia. Nickel laterite deposits can be found in countries such as Australia, Indonesia, New Caledonia and the Philippines.

Nickel sulphide ore is mined at our open-cut and underground operations in the Northern Goldfields of Western Australia. It is then crushed and concentrated using nickel sulphide flotation technology, before being dried and railed to the Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter, where it is fed to a flash furnace. This produces a granulated matte product containing approximately 68% nickel, which is then railed to Kwinana Nickel Refinery and converted to nickel metal in the form of powder and briquettes, at 99.8% nickel grade. Nickel matte and metal are exported to overseas markets via the Port of Fremantle.