Nornickel stated the dip in first-half nickel output was attributable to furnace repairs at its Nadezhda smelter.
“Upon completion, mixed with the overhaul of the converter electrical furnace and peripheral gear, the reliability of commercial belongings can be improved,” chief operations officer Alexander Popov stated within the assertion.
Nornickel shouldn’t be topic to direct Western sanctions, however some Western firms are avoiding coping with it.
That has hampered the corporate. For instance, it needed to postpone 30 billion roubles ($347 million) of repairs for 2 years because it struggled to supply gear and expertise beforehand offered by Western firms.
The repaired furnace will return to operation in early August, suggesting Nornickel has discovered methods to beat the issue. It didn’t disclose its new gear suppliers.
In April, the US and Britain banned their metal-trading exchanges from accepting new nickel, aluminum and copper produced by Russia and barred imports of the metals to attempt to disrupt Russia’s export revenues.
Nornickel stated this may additional enhance value volatility and provide uncertainty, however pledged to fulfil all its contractual obligations.
Like many different Russian firms, Nornickel is pivoting to China and different non-Western nations searching for expertise and new markets for its merchandise.
The corporate is in talks to maneuver its copper smelting to China, to construct a nickel plant for the battery sector in China, and plans to construct a platinum group metals refinery in Bahrain.
Nornickel stated its palladium manufacturing was little modified within the first six month of 2024, whereas platinum output fell 3%.
($1 = 86.4000 roubles)
(By Gleb Bryanski)