Commodities

Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal that is silvery-white in appearance with a slight golden tinge. Nickel–containing ores are found in two main types, sulphide and laterite deposits, and are currently mined in more than 25 countries worldwide, including Australia and Canada. Nickel is adaptable, resilient and recyclable, making it a diverse metal used in hundreds of thousands of products across various industries. With characteristics that improve performance and extend the range of batteries, nickel plays a critical role in the scaling up of clean energy for a more sustainable future.

The group of metals referred to as rare earth elements (REEs) comprises the 15 elements of the lanthanide series, plus yttrium (Y) and scandium (Sc). Metals in the lanthanide series are: lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb) and lutetium (Lu).

Each REE deposit has its own unique suite of minerals. Due to their high demand in the manufacturing of magnets, neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), dysprosium, terbium and samarium are considered highly valuable.

REEs, in their elemental form, are iron-grey to silvery in colour and relatively soft. They have a high lustre and tarnish readily in air. Despite their name, the elements themselves are not rare and are relatively plentiful in the earth’s crust. However, REEs are typically quite dispersed and rarely found in high enough concentrations that make them viable to mine.

Chromite is a dark, dense mineral known for its strength, hardness and resistance to corrosion. Once extracted, chromite ore is combined with iron in a high temperature furnace to produce ferrochrome, an essential ingredient in the manufacturing of stainless steel. Chromite is also essential for chrome plating and the creation of various high performance alloys.

Currently, North America has no domestic source of ferrochrome to support its key industrial applications such as aerospace, automotive and construction. Wyloo holds the largest high-grade chromite resource outside of South Africa and Kazakhstan, the world’s two leading chromite producers. As demand for chromite continues to grow, the Ring of Fire is positioned to provide a crucial source in filling this need.