Element Nickel

It is found in the Earth's crust and meteorites. 



It alloys with iron and is very rarely found on its own.

It is therefore extracted from a few different types of ore.

 
 Nickel by Jeff-o-matic via Flickr.com

Sulphide Ore Nickeline
Also called Niccolite, this ore is not common to find. It is often found in igneous rocks like gabbro, associated with chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite, and can also be found in hydrothermal veins with cobalt, arsenic and silver. It has a coppery colour.

Sulphide Ore Pentlandite
Pentlandite is the main ore of nickel, and it is often found together with pyrrhotite. They often form together in molten magma as it cools. It is usually massive and rarely forms crystals. It has a distinctive brassy colour and can be found with chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite.

Sulphide Ore Chloanthite
Chloanthite is a tin white nickel ore with black streak and metallic lustre. There are also the rammelsbergite, safflorite and skutterudite, but those are no longer mined.

Laterite Ore Garnierite
Garnierite is a common name that applies to a few different minerals such as nepoulite, willemsite and pimelite. It first forms as gabbro, but the nickel ore can be a weathering product in certain conditions in warm climates. It has a distinctive green colour similar to malachite.