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Nickel Ore, 2014

Colour photograph of a chunk of stone with metal veins running through it.

“Sulfidic gabbro (nickel ore) (Voisey’s Bay Ni-Cu-Co Magmatic Sulfide Deposit, Mesoproterozoic, 1.333 Ga; Voisey’s Bay Mine, Labrador, Canada) 1” by James St. John is licensed under CC BY 2.0

A chunk of nickel ore, extracted from a mine in Voisey’s Bay, N.L. The pentlandite mineral this stone contains is extremely rich in nickel, which is vital for the production of electric vehicle batteries, but refining the base metal can produce a huge range of toxic byproducts that are harmful to the environment.