Iron-nickel meteorites can contain high levels of heavy nickel (64Ni). In space debris analyzed at U of Chicago, an increase of ~500‰ excess in 64Ni has been found in samples. This is about the level of the heavy nickel which Parkhomov used in the Sochi paper. We are trying to find out where his nickel came from since it must have been natural and he was unaware.
The main Fe/Ni alloy that makes this natural kind of enrichment happen is called kamacite. The process is called “fractionation” and it requires millions of years in space to happen. Of course, to balance things out, there is another distinct alloy in iron meteorites which often has low levels of heavy nickel, and it is call taenite. The first kamacite was found at Meteor Crater, Arizona and it is common all over the world. There are occasional listings on eBay for kamacite, but the expected level of enrichment is not known. When meteorites are heated and cooled and subjected to magnetic fields as they orbit the sun, heavy nickel migrates from taenite to kamacite. Thus, there is a known way that enrichment in heavy nickel can occur naturally and probably something similar could happen with in an industrial setting with zone refining – should it be shown that 64Ni is the active isotope.
