• Rare find

    Rare find

    Towards the north-east of Abuja in Nigeria lies the potential world-class deposit of a new type of lucrative nickel – believed to have never been documented before anywhere else in the world.

    The highly unusual find – made by a private Australian company – has been described as an ‘improbable’ kind of nickel and is part of the Titan Nickel Project in Nigeria, according to a Mineweb report. The nickel’s uniqueness lies in its genesis, says Hugh Morgan, former CEO of Western Mining Corporation. It is formed in small balls (0.1 mm to 5.0 mm in diameter) as opposed to the more traditional nickel found in soil that needs to be refined in order for the material to be extracted.

    Currently, the company is working with the West African nation’s government to further understand the metal’s formation and ensure the project reaches its full potential.

    20 September 2016
    Image: Gallo/Getty Images