Nickel needed World over…

A metal nobody needs anymore : Nickel , Posted by: FANTOMAS on September 01, 2008 10:56AM

For an opener I am enclosing some excerpts on the subject of Nickel:

“Stainless production on the rise

Publication date: Jul 14, 2008

Excerpt from: http://www.stainless-steel-ind.com/a...

According to preliminary figures released on 7 July, global stainless steel production was 7.4 million metric tons (mmt) in the first quarter of 2008. The figures, published by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF), show that stainless steel production increased by 6.5% compared to the last quarter of 2007.
Compared to the first quarter of 2007 production decreased by 3% across the world. It should be noted that 7.589 mmt of stainless steel was produced in that quarter of 2007, the highest figure ISSF has recorded for a single three-month period.

All areas of the world increased production compared to the last quarter of 2007. The Asia region showed the lowest growth rate (3.6%) while The Americas region leads the way with growth of 13.4%. Western Europe/Africa (9.8%) and Eastern Europe (9.7%) are both contributing to the recovery. Asia is still the largest stainless steel producing region with production of 4.2 mmt in the first quarter of this year. “………

End Use

Excerpt from: http://www.nickelinstitute.org/index...

Nickel is used in thousands of applications in virtually every industry:

First Use

Nickel is a key component of many different materials that are used by society in many different industries to manufacture a wide range of end-use products. By first use, all the 'new' nickel that is produced each year is apportioned as follows:

Stainless Steel

This term covers a wide range of alloys of Iron, Chrome and Nickel. The most commonly used are the austenitic steels which contain 18% Chromium and 8% Nickel. For some special applications 3% Molybdenum is also added.

I would like to say a few words about the austenitic stainless steel. Their high tensile strength, shock resistance, anti-corrosion properties, and that the fact that they can be fabricated by all methods used for mild steel make them principal materials for construction of chemical process equipment, piping and plants for the chemical, food processing, pharmaceutical, petroleum refining, nuclear power generating industries.

What is significant to know about these materials, that every single aspects of their manufacture, engineering, fabrication, installation and commissioning is strictly controlled, specified and legislated by national and international standards, safety inspection agencies, courts, and other government bodies. Throughout the industrialized world there were millions of engineers, metallurgist, technicians and tradesmen were trained, qualified and certified for the competent and safe use of these standards and processes. All these processes took over a century to develop to the state of the arts today.

The very idea, that the Nickel would be substituted in stainless steel with something else overnight looks pretty revolutionary to me!

It may happen; after all, as we all know, once upon a time the Earth was flat. I am all for progress. One hears about research into many things, including anti-gravity, anti-matter, etc.

However, I believe that the Nickel will remain in the austenitic steel for a very long time.

Best regards,

durban1