Evening star., 1941-11-10
Mountain in Brazil
May Yield u. 5. Rich
Supply Of Nickel
Ore Deposit Of VitoI
Metal Estimated Up to
100 Million Tons
By THOMAS r. HENRY.

DN
Brazil has nickel mountain from
which the United States eventually
may get most of its supply of this
essential metal at a considerable
reduction in the present price.
The deposit, according to informa-
ton furnished by the United States
Bureau of Mines. contains nickel ore
estimated at 100000 to l00,O00,00O
tons.
Various rocks have a nickel con-
tent of 3 to II per cent. probably
averaging about 5 per cent, The
mountain, which is not mined for
nickel at present, has been known
to Brazilian engineers for some time
and at the outbreak of the war
German prospectors were looking 1t
over. Several tests to determine the
best method Of nickel extraction
were conducted in Germany, the
Bureau of Mines has learned.
L. S. Production Small.
The mountain is perhaps the rich
est nickel deposit yet known. The
| United States produces very little
Of this metal. The chief source at
present is Canada. The difficulty
with the Brazilian source Is its ex-
treme isolation, Bureau of Mines
engineers point out.
The mountain Is the Sierra do
Mantiquiera, in the state of Goiaz-
great mass of ancient volcanic
rock extending for Is miles. At
present some cobalt is mined at its
lower levels. Similar mountain
masses further north are Of much
the same structure and are reported
to contain some nickel They con-
sist for the most part of soft, green
ish rock covered by very thin soil
LAYER
Surface cuts have revealed that
the nickel deposits are part of an
ore body formed by solutions which
have seeped out of the depths of
the earth. More than $50 test pits
have been dug and all show rich
nickel deposits at least to depth
Of about $50 feet.
Extensive mining operations pre-
sent considerable difficulties at pres
ent There is little local labor. The
nearest source Of hydroelectric
power necessary for big scale con-
version IS a narrow gorge Of the
Maranhao River about IS miles
away. The nearest railroad station,
Annapolis, is about 220 miles from
the mountain by narrow, ungraded
road and at present It is necessary
to cross the river by ferry.
Extraction Tests Made.
There is also some question.
Bureau of Mines experts explain, as
to how the ore might be concen-
trated to extract the metal. Tests
to concentrate it by a f1otation
process, it was learned. have been
made at a great German nickel
works in Cologne with good results
Further tests were to be made by the
Krupp Co. at Magdeburg, but these
apparently were prevented by the
war A similar nickel ore, processed
in a similar fashion, is found in
SaXony.
Says Bureau of Mines account of
the find: The property has large
potential nickel reserves which,
with development in depth. appli-
cation of low-cost mining. and I'M
provement in transportation could
within a few years be developed to
supply most of the nickel required
by the United States at a price
considerably below the present mar
ket price"
Brazil already produces consid-
cradle nickel but from an ore of
much lower grade than that of the
Sierra do Mantiquiera. 1t runs
only from l to per cent and
methods of mining are quite primi-
tive. The reserve of ore is. at the
best, only few million tons with
about 2 per cent nickel.
The principal Brazilian nickel
market in the past has been the
Krupp Works in Germany. They
purchased about $4,000 tons of ore
in 1886, the last year for which ac-
curate records can be obtained. This
market presumably now is cut off.