Ring of Fire volcanic eruptions of the last 11,700 years occurred at volcanoes in the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire is a direct result of plate tectonics: the movement and collisions of lithospheric plates, especially subduction in the northern portion. The southern portion is more complex, with a number of smaller tectonic plates in collision with the Pacific plate from the Mariana Islands, the Philippines, Bougainville, Tonga, and New Zealand. The presence of a belt of volcanic activity surrounding the Pacific Ocean was observed in the 19th century. "They [the Japanese Islands] are in the line of that immense circle of
Circum-Superior Belt pounds of nickel. At least two nickel deposits are in progress by Vale Inco at the Thompson and Birchtree mines. At least 70 million pounds of nickel has been mined since 2005. At the city of Thompson, nickel of the Thompson Belt is smelted and refined in facilities. This smelting and refining process contributes to about one-third of the total nickel output in Canada. In the Cape Smith Belt of northern Quebec, the Raglan Mine lies in copper-nickel deposits of the ultramafic Katiniq Suite sills. The Katiniq Suite sills are also within an area that is presently explored for nickel,