[4] Nickel was first discovered at Sorowako in 1901 by the Dutch missionary, ethnographer, and amateur mineralogist, Albert Kruyt.

[5] In 1915, the Dutch mining engineer Eduard C. Abendanon confirmed that report.

[6][7] In 1934, H. R.‘Flat’ Elves, an Inco geologist, dug test pits and did a feasibility study.

[2] The ore is smectite containing disseminated nickel as fine-grained manganese-nickel silicates in a laterite profile.

[11] The ore is treated in a co-located processing plant to produce an intermediate nickel-in-matte product used in the manufacture of refined nickel.