Pure nickel is a lustrous metal with a silvery-white color and a slight golden tinge. As a siderophilic element, it associates readily with iron and even shares some of iron’s properties. Its melting temperature, density, magnetic properties, and hardness are generally similar to those of iron. But iron oxidizes (rusts) readily, while nickel strongly resists oxidation.
Nickel is the Earth’s fifth most abundant element; most, however, is thought to be combined with iron in the Earth’s core. In crustal abundance, nickel ranks 28th among the elements and is about as common as copper. Native (elemental) nickel is rare in the crust but common in meteorites, mainly as the iron-nickel alloy taenite.
Tools and weapons of exceptional quality were fashioned from meteoritic taenite as early as 3500 BCE. By 1700 BCE, Chinese metallurgists were unknowingly using nickel in copper alloys.
This story is from the June 2021 edition of Rock&Gem Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2021 edition of Rock&Gem Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Rockhounding Ohio's Lake Erie Islands
A short ferry boat ride three miles from Ohio’s Lake Erie coastline is South Bass Island, better known as Put-in-Bay or the “Key West of the North.”
Iowa's Hidden Treasures
Exploring Keokuk Geodes: How They're Made & What's Inside
Agatized CORAL
Florida's Collectible State Stone
Rockhounding Florida's Beaches
Beachcombing serene stretches of Florida can reveal fascinating finds like fossilized shark teeth, sea glass, quartz, agate and even coral fragments.
Collecting Staurolite
Hot Spots In Virginia & Georgia
Pecos Valley Diamonds
New Mexico's Ancient Attraction
12 Tips for Rockhounding Tucson's Greatest Shows
Tucson in February becomes the international hub for buying and selling colored gems, rocks, minerals and fossils.
Turquoise in the American Southwest
A Water & Sky Souvenir
Touring Colorado's MINERAL BELT
It's a Showcase of Mining History & Minerals
Geology &Colorado's Taurish Traiks
Most of Colorado’s tourist trains today were originally constructed in the late 1800s to serve the state’s lucrative mining operations.