Nickel ores
Occurrence
Nickel ore deposits occur in the Lower Silesian region (map). These are siliceous nickel ores deposits of a saprolite (weathering) type, related to the serpentinized ultramafic rocks (peridotites) of the Paleozoic age. The exploitation of the major nickel ore deposit at Szklary in the vicinities of Ząbkowice Śląskie was phased out in 1983 as uneconomic.
Resources and output
The anticipated economic resources of nickel ores did not changed in 2021. The anticipated economic resources of nickel ores in Poland explored in B and C1 categories amount to 17.21 million tonnes of ore with a metallic nickel content of 125.0 thousand tonnes (the limiting content of Ni in the deposit is 0.8%). The anticipated sub-economic resources amount to 21.32 million tonnes of ore and 84 thousand tonnes of metallic nickel. The ore resources of the Grochów deposit were classified only as anticipated sub-economic (Table 1).
The prognostic resources of the Ni-layer silicate type ores occurring in small and separate lenses in the Cenozoic serpentinite mantle rocks in the northern, eastern and southern buffer zone of the Sowie Mts. block gneisses (Lower Silesia) are estimated for ca. 25 thousand tonnes*.
Except for the weathering type, nickel is also the co-occurring metal in copper ores in the Fore-Sudetic Monocline (at about 102.45 thusand tonnes; Table 2). In 2021 the processing of copper sulfide ores gave 1,973 tonnes of nickel sulfides.
Prepared by: Agnieszka Malon, Marcin Tymiński, Stanisław Z. Mikulski
* Mikulski S.Z., Sadłowska K., 2020 - "Rudy niklu (nickel ores)". In: "Bilans perspektywicznych zasobów kopalin Polski wg stanu na 31.12.2018 r." (eds. Szamałek K., Szuflicki M., Mizerski W.): 168-173. PIG-PIB, Warszawa [in Polish].