June08

M uch of the nickel and other metals mined in the Sudbury Basin is exported to the four corners of the world, but more and more of it is finding its way back in the form of cellphone, laptop and hybrid car batteries. In 2000, Xstrata Nickel’s custom feed... More

M uch of the nickel and other metals mined in the Sudbury Basin is exported to the four corners of the world, but more and more of it is finding its way back in the form of cellphone, laptop and hybrid car batteries. In 2000, Xstrata Nickel’s custom feed group in Sudbury processed 30,000 tonnes of material. This year, it’s forecasting 160,000 tonnes. A world leader in base metal recycling, the Xstrata Custom Feed group took a giant step forward earlier this year with the commissioning of a state-of-the-art calciner, a $29 million plant designed to boost throughput. “We’ve been in the recycling business since the early ’80s,” said Bob Sutherland, Xstrata Nickel Custom Feed Manager. “It was a little niche market for us, but as time went on, we followed the nickel trail - looking at where our people were selling nickel - and the business kept growing and growing. ” Much of the material is in the form of mine concentrates, smelter by-products, high-grade slags and reverbs, but exotic Less