May 2026 Volume 8

NICKEL ALLOY FORGINGS – COMMERCIAL AND TECHNICAL LANDSCAPE By Mike Manning and Blake Nelson MATERIALS

N ickel has been used in alloys that date back to the dawn of civilization. Chemical analysis of artifacts has shown that weapons, tools, and coins contain nickel in varying amounts. Nickel in elemental form or alloyed with other metals and materials has made significant contributions to our present-day society and promises to continue to supply materials for an even more demanding future.

Nickel as an element is abundant in the Earth’s crust with commercially valuable nickel ores occurring across the globe. According to the U.S. Geologic Survey the largest producer of nickel ores is Indonesia with Australia, Canada, China, and Russia also producing considerable amounts of nickel ores. Compared to other metals, nickel production is not limited by the abundance of nickel ores as nickel ores are found in large quantities worldwide with considerable current reserves.

Figure 2: Slag Pour at Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter Nickel is a versatile element and will alloy with most metals. Complete solid solubility exists between nickel and copper. Wide solubility ranges between iron, chromium, and nickel make possible many alloy combinations along with key alloying elements like Mo, W, Ta, Ti, and Al (see Figure 3).

Figure 1: A Typical Nickel Ore Known as Laterite The processing of nickel ores into usable metals begins with a chemical refining process. The specific process for refining the nickel ore differs depending on the specific composition of the ore but can generally be described with two steps, concentration and smelting. The first step is to concentrate the nickel in the ore; this can be done chemically for some ore types or can be done via an initial smelt for other ore types. Once the nickel is concentrated it is smelted in a high temperature electric arc furnace which will remove the remaining impurities from the nickel.

Figure 3: Nickel Base Alloys & Main Alloying Elements

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