Figure 1.
(A) Global resource of Ni metal contained in laterite type deposits by country (after Berger et al., 2011). The intertropical zone, where most of the deposits are located, is highlighted. Orange dashed areas represent the envelope of the world’s main lateritic zones (after Tardy, 1993). Weathering profiles being highly sensitive to erosion, most of the preserved nickel laterite deposits are (geologically) young and are found in the intertropical belt. Higher-latitude occurrences correspond to minor and older deposits formed during past warm climate periods. Insets: (B) the Caribbean and (C) SW Asia–Oceania regions, showing individual and mostly known deposits and deposit types. PNG—Papua New Guinea.