Nickel laterite

Lateritic rocks with nickel present in silicates and oxides.
There are two main types of Ni(Co) laterite deposits consisting of hydrous Mg silicate (or garnierite) and oxide ores, with limited development of clay silicate type. These deposits are influenced and controlled by the lithology of ultramafic bedrock, topography, climate, weathering, structures, and tectonic environment. The degree of bedrock serpentinization has an important influence on the grade of Ni laterite ore.
The Ni(Co) laterites are mid-Tertiary to recent supergene deposits that are widely distributed in southern and northern America (Brazil, Colombia, and USA), the Caribbean (Dominican Republic and Cuba), southeastern Europe (Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Cyprus, Greece, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey), western Africa (Cameroon and Ivory Coast), western Asia (Iran and Oman), southeastern Asia (Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, and China), and southern Pacific (Australia, New Caledonia, and Papua New Guinea).