• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.56 no.3
• /
• pp.343-363
• /
• 2023

Sulawesi island, as a global producer of nickel resources, is leading the rapid growth of nickel industry of Indonesia. Nickel laterite deposits in Sulawesi was formed by lateritization of the world-scale East Sulawesi Ophiolite (ESO) under the active tectonic setting and tropical rainforest climate. In this paper, exploration cases for nickel laterite deposits in five regions of Sulawesi are reported. Regional characteristics on nickel laterite deposits in Sulawesi are understood based on various exploration activities such as outcrop, trench and pit survey, petrological observation, geochemical analysis, and interpretation of drilling data, etc.. In the northeastern part of 'Southeast-Arm', which is a strategic location for nickel industry of Indonesia, ESO is extensively exposed to the surface. In the Morombo and Morowali regions, typical high-grade saprolite-type orebodies with a thickness of 10 to 20 m occur. The cases showed that topographic relief tends to regulate Ni-grade distribution and orebody thickness, and that high grade intervals tend to occur in places where joints and garnierite veins are dense. In the Tinanggea and South Palangga regions in the southern part of the Southeast-Arm, overburden composed of Neogene to Quaternary deposits is a major factor affecting the preservation and profitability of nickel laterite deposits. Despite the overburden, high-grade saprolite-type orebodies composed of Ni-bearing serpentine with garnierite veins occur in a thickness of around 10 m to secure economic feasibility. In contrast, in the Ampana region in the northern part of 'East-Arm', low-grade nickel laterite deposits with immature laterite profile was identified, which is thought to be the result of active denudation due to tectonic uplift. Exploration cases in this paper will help to understand characteristics and controlling factors on nickel laterite deposits in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.253-263
• /
• 2011

Mineralogical characteristics of garnierite ores from the Nakety, Kouaoua, and Ouaco Ni laterite deposits in New Caledonia are investigated using optical microscopy, powder X-ray diffractometer, and electron proble microanalyzer. Green garnierite ores have colloform, cellular, and boxwork texture, which are formed by precipitation under low temperature surface environment. They are mainly composed of Ni-bearing talc~willemseite series mineral and partly of lizardite. In Ni-bearing talc~willemseite series mineral, NiO contents are Ouaco (average 40.63%), Nakety (average 28.58%), and Kouaoua (average 24.90%), in descending order. Ni atomic percentage replacing Mg in octahedral site are 43.5~85.0%. Dark brown garnierite ores show cellular or boxwork texture, and consist of lizardite~Ni lizardite with some Ni-bearing talc~willemseite series mineral. Ni contents in lizardite~Ni lizardite are 1.14~4.06 wt. % and Ni atomic percentage replacing Mg in octahedral site 1.7~6.8%. Low NiO content in dark brown garnierite attributes to high Fe content replacing Mg in octahedral site.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.56 no.6
• /
• pp.781-797
• /
• 2023

Recently, there has been a rapid response from mineral-demanding countries for securing critical minerals in a high tech industries. Graphite, while overwhelmingly dominated by China in production, is changing in global supply due to the exponential growth in EV battery sector, with active exploration in East Africa. Rare earth elements are essential raw materials widely used in advanced industries. Globally, there are ongoing developments in the production of REEs from three main deposit types: carbonatite, laterite, and ion-adsorption clay types. While China's production has decreased somewhat, it still maintains overwhelming dominance in this sector. Recent changes over the past few years include the rapid emergence of Myanmar and increased production in Vietnam. Nickel has been used in various chemical and metal industries for a long time, but recently, its significance in the market has been increasing, particularly in the battery sector. Worldwide, nickel deposits can be broadly classified into two types: laterite-type, which are derived from ultramafic rocks, and ultramafic hosted sulfide-type. It is predicted that the development of sulfide-type, primarily in Australia, will continue to grow, while the development of laterite-type is expected to be promoted in Indonesia. This is largely driven by the growing demand for nickel in response to the demand for lithium-ion batteries. The global lithium ores are produced in three main types: brine lake (78%), rock/mineral (19%), and clay types (3%). Rock/mineral type has a slightly higher grade compared to brine lake type, but they are less abundant. Chile, Argentina, and the United States primarily produce lithium from brine lake deposits, while Australia and China extract lithium from both brine lake and rock/mineral sources. Canada, on the other hand, exclusively produces lithium from rock/mineral type. Vanadium has traditionally been used in steel alloys, accounting for approximately 90% of its usage. However, there is a growing trend in the use for vanadium redox flow batteries, particularly for large-scale energy storage applications. The global sources of vanadium can be broadly categorized into two main types: vanadium contained in iron ore (81%) produced from mines and vanadium recovered from by-products (secondary sources, 18%). The primary source, accounting for 81%, is vanadium-iron ores, with 70% derived from vanadium slag in the steel making process and 30% from ore mined in primary sources. Intermediate vanadium oxides are manufactured from these sources. Vanadium deposits are classified into four types: vanadiferous titanomagnetite (VTM), sandstone-hosted, shale-hosted, and vanadate types. Currently, only the VTM-type ore is being produced.