Nikkelverk is a refinery and
sulphuric acid plant in Kristiansand, Norway. The primary metals refined at
Nikkelverk are nickel, copper, cobalt and precious metals. The plant ranks among the
lowest-cost nickel refineries in the western world and is ISO 9001 quality and
ISO 14001 environment certified.The Nikkelverk refinery uses a
chlorine leach and electro-winning process to separate and recover component metals.
It is an extremely cost-efficient process for treating complex raw materials, which
achieves high productivity and recoveries. This efficiency allows greater flexibility in
sourcing and treating custom feed.
The refinery
processes a granulated matte produced by Sudbury and Raglan operations as well as custom
feed from other sources. The granulated matte is crushed to a very fine powder and
then transported to the chlorine leach plant. The metals contained in the matte are
separated and distributed to the various process areas for further purification and
refining. From there, the products are cut, packaged and shipped to world markets.
The Nikkelverk
refinery has the capacity to process 86,000 tonnes of nickel, 39,000 tonnes
of copper cathodes and 5,200 tonnes of cobalt annually. It also treats the
silver, gold and precious metals contained in the Sudbury and Raglan feeds and in the feed
from other sources.
2005 Production Rates
84,886 tonnes
nickel
38,681
tonnes copper cathodes
5,021 tonnes
cobalt
Nikkelverk opened
in 1910 as Kristiansands Nikkelraffineringsverk and was acquired by
Falconbridge June 14, 1929. The refinery plays an important role in
the city of Kristiansand and is one of the major industrial employers of
southern Norway.
