Norilsk Nickel on Track to Cut Sulphur Dioxide Emissions on Taimyr
MOSCOW, November 25, 2020 (Newswire.com) - Vladimir Potanin, CEO of MMC Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel, has confirmed that the company is on track to drastically reduce sulphur dioxide emissions. The company is in the process of modernising its mining and production facilities to improve air quality and contribute to the development of local population centres. The modernisation programme is valued at US $26bln (RUR 2trn) for a period of 10 years and includes multiple investment directions.
In a recent interview on a local television station - "Severnyi Gorod" - in Norilsk, Vladimir Potanin explained: "The welfare of the city depends on the sustained development of the company. The 10-year programme includes investments of 2 trillion roubles into the development and upgrading of the production facilities and infrastructure. Some 250 billion roubles of the investments will be directed into solving issues related to air cleanliness and reducing sulphur dioxide emissions at the Nadezhdinskiy facility and the copper plant. On top of that, 100 billion will be invested into strengthening the labour safety and environment protection measures."
As part of the group's environmental campaign Nornickel's northwest unit, Kola MMC, has been commissioned to complete a large investment project to address emission issues in the Pechengsky District of the Murmansk Region. The new processing facility was launched at the Concentrator in Zapolyarny to separate copper-nickel concentrate into low-grade and high-grade products. The new facility will be used for briquetting high-grade concentrate and directing it to the smelting shop for producing converter matte.
All products from the new concentrator will be shipped directly to customers after the closure of the Company's smelting facilities in the northwest town of Nickel, which is scheduled for January 2021. As a part of the comprehensive upgrade programme, the metallurgical shop of Kola MMC (a subsidiary of Nornickel) will undergo major revamping, which will help minimise the facility's environmental footprint. A state-of-the-art concentrate shipment unit is being built for facilitating the process. Nornickel's investment in the construction of the new unit for concentrate separation and shipment at the Kola MMC concentrator stands at around US $790mln (RUR 6bln). Its launch is projected to drastically reduce sulphur dioxide emissions, as the Company's strategic goal is to reduce SO2 emissions at both its Kola sites by 85% in 2021, compared to 2015, when emissions totalled 155.0 ktpa.
As part of its modernisation effort, Nornickel has completed multiple projects and is continuing to implement its corporate social responsibility programme.
About
MMC Norilsk Nickel is a diversified mining and metallurgic company, the world's largest producer of palladium, high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper; it also produces cobalt, rhodium, silver, gold, iridium, ruthenium, selenium, tellurium, sulphur and other products.
MMC Norilsk Nickel shares are listed on the Moscow and on the Saint Petersburg Stock Exchanges; ADRs are traded over the counter in the U.S. and on the London, Berlin and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges.
Contact: Tatyana Egorova, pr@nornik.ru
Source: MMC Norilsk Nickel