Silver NIckel

Nickel is a silvery-white metal with a slight golden tinge. Unlike brass which is an alloy, nickel is a pure chemical element holding number 28 on the periodic table. Because the ores of nickel are easily mistaken for ores of silver and copper, understanding of this metal and its use dates to relatively recent times.

While unintentional use of nickel is ancient, its discovery as an element was not made until 1751. Because the metal did not rust, it was regarded through the ages as a kind of silver. Today, that same property drives its dominant use as an alloying metal lending its corrosion resistance in the production of stainless steel.

Most of the nickel on Earth is believed to be in the Earth's outer and inner cores, inaccessible to human endeavors. A substantial amount of the obtainable nickel on Earth arrived with meteorites. One of these landed in the region near Ontario, Canada, hundreds of millions of years ago. This region is now responsible for about 15% of the world’s nickel production.

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