Development and Equipment of the Nicaro Nickel Project

CUBA'S lateritic iron ores, occurring on the northern coast of that island, though known to the Spaniards. did not receive any general attention until the close of the Spanish-American War. Preliminary studies of these deposits at that time indicated that the limonite contained small percentages of nickel and chrome, and it ryas subsequently discovered that although the average nickel content was only approximately 0.6 per certain limited areas of ore were suffiniently high in nickel to be considered commercial provided a suitable process fur its recovery could be developed. Early in 1937, Pardners Mines Corp. began a series of investigations which led to the development of such a process. Coincidentally, this company acquired option' on certain properties in the Levisa Bay and Moa Bay regions and conducted a systematic campaign of exploration by test pits and hand-auger holes in the course of which an aggregate of 90.000.000 tons of ore was developed in eight deposits.