Nickel was discovered in 1751 by Axel Cronstedt in Stockholm, Sweden.
The word "nickel" comes from the German words 'kupfernickel' (false copper) and 'nickel' (satan).
Nickel was discovered in a mineral called niccolite. Cronstedt had expected to get copper but didn't. Instead, he got a white metal that he called nickel after niccolite, where it came from.
Nickel was used by the Chinese in alloys for over two thousand years, but was not recognized as an element until Constedt isolated the metal from niccolite.
Nickel is found naturally in abundance in garnierite and pentlandite. These are commonly found in Canada and northern Northern America.
Nickel is found naturally in the core of the earth.
Canada is the largest supplier of nickel and nickel mines. One of the biggest deposits is in Sudbury, Ontario.
Until 1905, New Caledonia was the leading producer of nickel.
Nickel was originally mined from ores using hydroelectric power from Niagara Falls. The production grew to enormous numbers when Thompson Mine orebody was discovered in 1956. Because of this discovery, Inco invested $175 million (now that would equal $2 million) in the first major nickel mining company.
Now, the most mined place is Voisey's Bay. Inco recently spent $25 million on setting up mines there and believes that there is more than 150 tons of ore available there.
Nickel is very expensive to mine.
The demand for nickel is expected to increase by 30% in the next few years. Much of this demand has to fall to some of the lesser nickel producers like Australia, Indonesia, and South America.
The United States is the leading nickel purchaser in the world.