Jinchuan Becomes China's Leading Nickel Base

Jinchuan City, in the Hexi Corridor of northwest China's Gansu Province, turned out 40,000 tons of nickel last year, becoming China's leading nickel production base.

According to national geological survey, Jinchuan has a nickel reserve of 5.5 million tons, ranking first in China. However, the annual nickel output in Jinchuan lingered around 6,000-7,0000 tons for many years as a result of lacking advanced technology. The reclamation rate of osmium, ruthenium, rhodium and other rare metals was only 1-3 percent.

Scientists from across the country came here in 1978 to tackle key technical problems and developed 200 technological research results, of which 138 have been applied in nickel mining, ore- dressing and smelting.

The types of valuable elements retrieved from smelting has grown from seven to 14 kinds. The reclamation rate of rare metals has increased by 26.5 percent.

Up to now, the city has produced 550,000 tons of nickel. In addition to domestic supply, Jinchuan has exported its products to a dozen of countries including the United States, Britain, Japan and France.

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