Vale Inco turns nickel into gold. The company is the world's #2 producer of nickel (after Russian giant Norilsk Nickel), which is used to manufacture stainless steel and batteries. Vale Inco also mines and processes copper, gold, cobalt, and platinum group metals. It makes nickel battery materials and nickel foams, flakes, and powders for use in catalysts, electronics, and paints. Sulphuric acid and liquid sulphur dioxide are made as byproducts. The company's mining operations are located in Canada and Indonesia; its processing and refining units are in North America, Indonesia, and the UK. It's been a subsidiary of Brazilian miner Vale since 2007.