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Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) is the leader in Russia’s metals and mining industry, as well as the largest palladium and high-grade nickel producer and one of the largest producers of platinum and copper. Nornickel also produces cobalt, rhodium, silver, gold, iridium, ruthenium, selenium, tellurium, and sulfur.
It has confirmed plans to develop major projects in Russia that include completing the third stage of the Talnakh Concentrator (TOF-3), developing mining at the Medvezhy Ruchey deposits, and negotiating with its Chinese partners to relocate part of the capacities of the Norilsk Copper Plant to China.Projects in Russia, which are now accelerating, had been delayed due to issues with Western components and will lead to increased capital expenditures (capex) after 2025.
Nornickel Senior Vice President and Head of Strategy and Business Development Sergei Dubovitsky recently said “We confirm both of these projects. They are currently in the implementation phase,” he later added, “These plans are included in our mid-term and long-term forecasts.”.
Regarding the expansion of TOF (the construction of the third stage with a capacity of 8 million tonnes), Nornickel has solved all import substitution issues and is ready to continue the project, according to Dubovitsky. The estimated completion date is 2028.The quarry development project at Medvezhy Ruchey, which aims to achieve production of 7 million tonnes of ore, will occur at the same time as TOF-3 and is also expected to reach its planned capacity by 2028.”
In 2026-2027, with the intensification of the TOF-3 and Medvezhy Ruchey projects, we expect a certain capex increase, but not beyond the level we previously planned,” he said. The earlier target was planned at $2.5-$3 billion.
Commenting on the plans to relocate the company’s copper plant’s capacities to China, Dubovitsky said that Nornickel is actively negotiating with its Chinese partners and cannot yet disclose details.
In late April, Nornickel President Vladimir Potanin spoke of plans to relocate the copper plant’s capacities from Norilsk to China, creating a joint venture with partners in the country. This move will help resolve the plant’s modernization issue, which has been complicated by inaccessible Western equipment, as well as handling difficulties with payments and avoiding the discounts Nornickel has to offer clients due to voluntary refusals of Russian metals.
Additionally, Nornickel hopes to gain competencies in producing battery materials.Nornickel earlier said that its capacities in China will be built by mid-2027, and the process will be synchronized with the phasing out of capacities at the copper plant. Nornickel plans to annually supply around 2 million tonnes of copper concentrate from its Zapolyarny division to the new facility.Further Reading
