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Nickel Laterite Ore Deposits:
Weathered Serpentinites
Charles R. M. Butt1 and Dominique Cluzel2
1811-5209/13/0009-0123$2.50 DOI: 10.2113/gselements.9.2.123
N
ickel laterite ores account for over 60% of global nickel supply. They Some Ni laterites are currently
are the product of intensive deep weathering of serpentinites under forming and are, in effect, in
equilibrium with their present
humid tropical conditions. Nickel is concentrated to over 1.0 wt% environment. Examples include
and is hosted in a variety of secondary oxides, hydrous Mg silicates and Ni laterites developed on Miocene
smectites. The formation, mineralogy and grade of the deposits are controlled ophiolites in Sulawesi, where the
present rainforest conditions are
by the interplay of lithology, tectonics, climate and geomorphology. Most considered to have prevailed since
deposits have a multi-phase development, evolving as their climatic and/or the exposure of the ophiolites.
topographic environment change. The richest deposits (>3 wt% Ni) formed The majority of deposits, however,
have developed and evolved
where oxide-rich regoliths were uplifted and Ni leached downwards to concen- under climatic and/or tectonic
trate in neo-formed silicates in the saprolite. conditions that have changed over
time, thereby modifying the ore or
KEYWORDS : weathering, regolith, Ni laterite, secondary ore deposits,
producing a new ore type (Freyssinet
serpentinite, geomorphology, landscape evolution
et al. 2005; Golightly 2010). Multi-
phase development is typical of
INTRODUCTION deep lateritic regoliths, especially in
Nickel laterites are intensely weathered regoliths with one or cratonic environments that have been exposed to subaerial
more horizons containing exploitable reserves of nickel (Ni), conditions throughout much of the Phanerozoic (Butt and
commonly, cobalt (Co) and, rarely, scandium (Sc). They are Zeegers 1992). This paper summarizes the factors controlling
defined by economic, rather than geological, criteria, namely the origin and occurrence of these increasingly important
that the Ni–Co grades and tonnages are sufficient for them deposits and the relationship between their chemical and
to be mined, processed and rehabilitated with financial (and mineralogical characteristics and their genesis.
social) benefit. Nickel laterites are formed on serpentinites
and, for those on partially or unserpentinized ultramafic DEPOSIT CHARACTERISTICS
rocks, serpentine minerals are commonly some of the earliest
weathering products. Their global distribution is shown in Lateritic Regolith
FIGURE 1. Lateritic regoliths generally consist of many or all of the
following horizons (from the base): saprock, saprolite, plasmic
Nickel laterites constitute 60 to 70% of the world’s Ni
zone, mottled zone, ferruginous and/or aluminous duricrust
resources, but although they have been mined for about
or gravels, and soil (Eggleton 2001); saprolite may comprise
140 years, until 2000 they accounted for less than 40% of
over 80% of the total thickness of the profile. They have
global Ni production, the remainder being from sulfide ores.
developed under humid tropical to sub-tropical conditions,
Lower grades, complex treatment processes, costly energy
under present and/or past climatic regimes. A lateritic regolith
requirements and remoteness from centres of industrial
developed on ultramafic rocks may contain economically
demand and appropriate infrastructure contributed to
significant concentrations of Ni in one or more horizons, and
their slow development. Historically, most production from
it is these units that define it commercially as a “Ni laterite.”
laterites came from the rich deposits of New Caledonia, which
There are three general ore types, based on the dominant
have been mined since 1875, and deposits in Greece, the Urals
minerals hosting Ni: oxides, hydrous Mg silicates and clay
(Russia, Kazakhstan), USA (Oregon, California) and Cuba.
silicates (FIG. 2, TABLE 1). This subdivision has important
More recently, Ni laterites have been discovered and mined in
implications for processing and whether a deposit can provide
many other regions, and production has increased in response
economically viable ore. Most Ni laterite profiles have two
to greater demand, new processing technology and reducing
ore types, an oxide component and either a hydrous silicate
availability of sulfide ores. Total Ni production from laterite
or a clay silicate component (Brand et al. 1998; Berger et
ores had risen to 46% of global supply by 2008; it exceeded
al. 2011). Because of the different processing requirements
50% in 2010 and is expected to reach 60% in 2014 (Nikhil
for the different mineral hosts, most mines tend to exploit
Shah, CRU International Ltd., written communication 2012).
only one style of mineralization. At the Goro mine, New
Nickel laterites also contribute 20–30% of the total Co supply
Caledonia, however, both the oxide and the underlying
(Wilburn 2012).
hydrous Mg silicate resources are exploited (Freyssinet et al.
2005; Golightly 2010).
1 CSIRO Earth Science and Resource Engineering
Box 1130, Bentley, Western Australia 6102 Oxide Deposits
E-mail: Charles.Butt@csiro.au Oxide deposits (limonitic ore) are dominated by Fe
2 Pôle Pluridisciplinaire de la Matière et de l’Environnement oxyhydroxides, principally goethite, in the mid to upper
Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, BP R4 saprolite and extending upwards to the plasmic zone
98850 Nouméa, Nouvelle-Calédonie (FIGS. 2A, 2B, 3). Nickel is hosted mainly in goethite, by
E-mail: dominique.cluzel@univ-nc.nc
FIGURE 4 Oxide (ox) and hydrous Mg silicate (Mg) ores, Plateau FIGURE 5 Clay silicate ore, Bulong, Western Australia
mine, New Caledonia
A B
Formation and evolution of oxide and hydrous Mg Tardy 1992; Freyssinet and Farah 2000), a full profile requires at
FIGURE 7
silicate deposits. (A) Progressive development of a least 2 to 10 My to form. (B) With uplift and under a similar
well-differentiated lateritic regolith under a seasonally humid climate, leaching and reaction/exchange of Ni yield hydrous Mg
savanna climate in an area with low relief and tectonic stability. silicates. (C) The profile is modified during a change to an arid
With mean weathering rates of about 8 to 20 m/My (Nahon and climate, with precipitation of magnesite and silica.
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