Good post John. I had mentioned the other day that maybe we could hope that the slackening in some countries maybe be balanced by the growth in others, namely your BRIC group.

I found this on the NRC site.

http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/mms/scho-ecol...

NICKEL

In Canada, nickel occurs with varying amounts of sulphur, iron and copper, plus smaller amounts of other important by-product metals such as cobalt, gold, silver and platinum group metals. The ore is crystalline in structure and is called a sulphide. Sulphide ores are usually found in deeply extending veins, and are most often recovered by means of underground mining.

Nickel is mined in Thompson, Manitoba, in the Sudbury Basin of Ontario, and in the Ungava peninsula of Quebec. After 2005, nickel production is scheduled to commerce at Voisey's Bay in Newfoundland and Labrador. Nickel will also be mined in Quebec.

Coinage is an early use of nickel that has continued to grow over the years. While, the Canadian dime and quarter were made of pure nickel and the five-cent piece was made of cupro-nickel, they are now made by plating nickel onto steel.

The greatest demand for nickel in the alloyed state is in the production of a wide range of stainless steels used in chemical and food-processing equipment, transportation equipment, construction as building facings and other architectural applications, and a vast array of consumer items. Over 60% of primary nickel production is used to make stainless steel. The second most important requirement for nickel is in the production of high-nickel alloys, used in high-temperature and very corrosive environments, particularly in the chemical, nuclear and aerospace industries.

The world mine production of nickel is small (1.1 Mt/y) compared to copper (14 Mt) or aluminum (25 Mt) so its price is more volatile. Nickel is also used in many other ways including batteries and fuel cells, and as a catalyst in the hydrogenation of fats and oils.

The United States is Canada's largest customer for nickel and accounts for half of Canada's exports of refined nickel. About 40% of the nickel mined in Canada is refined in Norway and the United Kingdom.

Canada is the third largest nickel producer in the world after Russia and Australia. The next largest are New Caledonia and Indonesia.

Stainless steel is intensively recycled. Stainless steel producers buy, on average, about 45% of their nickel supply from scrap sources and 55% from primary sources.

For more information see nickel.