What is it about?
Firstly, the actual extraction and production of nickel within Africa, as at 2016, is reviewed, together with a short history of its discovery and development. Several recent development and exploration projects are also described. The main part of the article is about the undeveloped nickel deposits of the East African Nickel Belt, occurring in Burundi and Tanzania. These include high-grade nickel sulphide deposits such as Kabanga, and large-volume nickel laterite deposits such as Musongati.
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Why is it important?
Africa has a long pre-colonial history of mining and is well-endowed with certain mineral commodities such as gold and uranium. However nickel is a relatively recently discovered resource on the continent, and its production lags behind most other continents. Sizable and rich nickel deposits are found in Africa but they have not yet been developed due to a combination of political, social and infrastructural constraints.
Perspectives
The article forms part of a thematic set on the geology of "The Great Mineral Fields of Africa" to mark the occasion of the 35th International Geological Congress in Cape Town in 2016. Although the EANB does not qualify as an established and producing mineral field, it merits inclusion on the basis of its exploration potential and its similarities to other well-known nickel belts in the world such as those of Thompson, Manitoba and Pechenga, Russia.
Dr David M Evans
Natural History Museum, London
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: An Overview of Nickel Mineralisation in Africa with Emphasis on the Mesoproterozoic East African Nickel Belt (EANB), Episodes, June 2016, International Union of Geological Sciences,
DOI: 10.18814/epiiugs/2016/v39i2/95780.
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