MMC Norilsk Nickel
Encyclopedia
MMC Norilsk Nickel is a nickel
and palladium
mining
and smelting
company. Its largest operations are located in the Norilsk–Talnakh
area, in northern Russia. MMC stands for "Mining and Metallurgical Company".
Norilsk Nickel is headquartered in Moscow and is the world's leading producer of nickel and palladium. The company is also active in platinum
, copper
and cobalt
. It is ranked among the top four world platinum producers, in association with subsidiary Stillwater Mining Company
of Billings, Montana
. It is ranked among the top ten copper producers.
The company is listed on NASDAQ
and the RTS Stock Exchange
. The key shareholders are Vladimir Potanin
's Interros
and Oleg Deripaska
's Rusal: each reportedly owns over 25% of shares. In December 2010, Norilsk offered to buy out Rusal's share for US$12 billion; but the offer was declined.
area in the 1920s. The government of the USSR created the "Norilsk Combine" in 1935 and passed control to the NKVD
at that time. In 1943 Norilsk produced 4 thousand tons of refined nickel and in 1945 hit the target figure of ten thousand tons. Mining and metal production continued first with Gulag
forced labour, later with much volunteer labour, owing to the comparatively good wages offered.
In 1993 after the fall of the Soviet Union a joint-stock company was created: RAO Norilsk Nickel. Two years afterwards control over the deeply indebted company, that was bleeding cash at a rate of about two million dollars a day amid falling nickel prices, was given to a private company called Interros
. By the time the privatization was completed in 1997, the company became profitable and the workers were paid. Nowadays average pay is over a thousand dollars per month and workers enjoy two to three months of vacations; nevertheless, working and living conditions in Norilsk remain harsh.
Starting in 2002, MMC Norilsk Nickel began purchasing gold mining assets, which were spun off in 2005 as Polyus Gold
.
In 2003, the company took control of Stillwater Mining Company
, the only US producer of palladium. Stillwater operates a platinum group metals (PGM) facility in Stillwater, Montana
in the USA. In November 2010, Norilsk Nickel announced that it was selling Stillwater.
During 2007, Norilsk has acquired a host of mining and metallurgical assets abroad, transforming itself into a multinational with operations in Australia, Botswana, Finland, Russia, South Africa, and the United States. The key deal was completed on June 28, 2007, when Norilsk Nickel acquired about 90 per cent of Canada's LionOre Mining International Ltd, the world's 10th-largest nickel producer at the time. This takeover (valued in $6.4 billion US) is the biggest acquisition by a Russian company abroad so far. It makes Norilsk Nickel the world's largest nickel producer.
The nickel deposits of Norilsk-Talnakh are without doubt the largest nickel-copper-palladium deposits in the world. The deposit was formed 250 million years ago during the eruption of the Siberian Traps
igneous province (STIP). The STIP erupted over one million cubic kilometres of lava, a large portion of it through a series of flat-lying lava conduits lying below Norilsk and the Talnakh Mountains. The Siberian Traps are considered to be responsible for the mass extinction event at the end of the Permian
.
The ore was formed when the erupting magma became saturated in sulphur, forming globules of pentlandite
, chalcopyrite
, and other sulphides. These sulphides were then "washed" by the continuing torrent of erupting magma, and upgraded their tenor with nickel
, copper
, platinum
, and palladium
. The current resource known for these mineralised intrusion exceeds 1.8 billion tons.
The ore is mined underground via several shafts, and a decline
. The ore deposits are currently being extracted at >1,200 m below ground. The ore deposits are drilled from the surface.
The deposits are being explored using electromagnetic field
geophysics
, with detection loops on the Earth's surface with dimensions of over 1,000 m on a side. They are conclusively able to image the conduction nickel ore at depths in excess of 1,800 m.
Ore is smelted on site at Norilsk. The smelting
is directly responsible for severe pollution, including acid rain
and smog
. By some estimates, 1 percent of the entire global emission of sulfur dioxide
originates here. Heavy metal
pollution in the area is so severe that the soil itself has platinum and palladium content which is feasible to mine.
The pollution originating from Kola division of the company is also affecting Norway which since 1990 has offered financial support to clean up the operation. Due to a number of factors, however, this has not materialized.
2007 - Rosprirodnadzor (Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service of Russia) took water samples in Norilsk as part of the check up. The check up was initiated by the group of the city dwellers who filed the petition claiming deterioration of water quality due to industrial activity of NN branch in this city. Newspaper Kommersant was informed by Oleg Mitvol, the Chairman of Rosprirodnadzor, that results of the water tests were expected to be ready by the end of August. Company official said in their comment that NN spent over 19 bln roubles on environmental activity and 1 billion more will be spent till 2015. When asked by the reporter if Norilsk Nickel can suffer any consequences after the results of the check up, the state official said that he won’t make any promises or predictions.
The environmental problems at Norilsk stretch back over decades, but in the last 10 years when current NN management came to power it did not get much better. Back in 2004 M. Prokhorov claimed that NN will be able to resolve most of ecological problems in the area within 5–6 years. By 2008 this timeline moved to 2011 or 2015.Though NN claims to be socially responsible business and invests into modernization.
Norilsk Nickel has worked consistently to reduce emissions of major air pollutants. In 2006, the company reported investment of more than US $5m to maintain and overhaul its dust and gas recovery and removal systems. It asserts a commitment of nearly US $1.4m for its air pollution prevention plan. However, official statistics state that emissions remain extremely high. In 2006, international non-for-profit organization Blacksmith Institute
entitled Norilsk the name of the City of Horror. Norilsk is one of the most polluted places on the Earth. NN wrote a protest letter but state of affairs was left unchanged. Local environmental experts report that that although there have been some reductions in pollution levels, levels of SO2, HS, phenol, formaldehyde, and dust had increased; levels of nickel and copper had increased by 50%. Morbidity rates are stable and death rates are decreasing.
In September Rosprirodnadzor stated that NN significantly exceeds allowed concentrations of polluters in open water reservoirs (river Shuchya, river Novaya Nalednaya and others) located near industrial enterprises of NN objects. Also the agency stated very serious violations of temporary norms for certain polluting substances.
Nevertheless there were no measures taken against NN. In the end of December the company issued a press release on cooperation with Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service of Russia (Rostekhnadzor) and Norilsk Nickel signed a protocol of cooperation with regard to industrial safety and environment protection in the development of the Company’s operations.
Norilsk Nickel uses the port of Dudinka
to load nickel and palladium on ships for export.
Interros
Holding Company, based in Moscow, is the controlling shareholder of Norilsk.
In partnership with Argosy Minerals of Australia, Norilsk attempted to operate Nakety/Bogota, a nickel mine on the island of New Caledonia
in the South Pacific
. Norilsk has withdrawn from this project.
and Anglo Platinum
are important competitors to Norilsk in the production of nickel and of palladium.
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
and palladium
Palladium
Palladium is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pd and an atomic number of 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself named after the epithet of the Greek goddess Athena, acquired...
mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
and smelting
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
company. Its largest operations are located in the Norilsk–Talnakh
Norilsk
Norilsk is an industrial city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located between the Yenisei River and the Taymyr Peninsula. Population: It was granted city status in 1953. It is the northernmost city in Siberia and the world's second largest city north of the Arctic Circle...
area, in northern Russia. MMC stands for "Mining and Metallurgical Company".
Norilsk Nickel is headquartered in Moscow and is the world's leading producer of nickel and palladium. The company is also active in platinum
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
, copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
and cobalt
Cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
. It is ranked among the top four world platinum producers, in association with subsidiary Stillwater Mining Company
Stillwater Mining Company
Stillwater Mining Company is a palladium and platinum mining company with headquarters located at Billings, Montana, United States. It is the only palladium and platinum producer in the USA. The only other North America based palladium/platinum producer is North American Palladium, located in...
of Billings, Montana
Billings, Montana
Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in over...
. It is ranked among the top ten copper producers.
The company is listed on NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
and the RTS Stock Exchange
Russian Trading System
The Russian Trading System is a stock market established in 1995 in Moscow, consolidating various regional trading floors into one exchange. Originally RTS was modelled on NASDAQ's trading and settlement software; in 1998 the exchange went on line with its own in-house system...
. The key shareholders are Vladimir Potanin
Vladimir Potanin
Vladimir Olegovich Potanin is a Russian businessman and oligarch. His partner has been for many years Mikhail Prokhorov...
's Interros
Interros
Interros is a Russian conglomerate controlled by Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin with large stakes in mining, metals, energy, finance, retail, real estate and other sectors...
and Oleg Deripaska
Oleg Deripaska
Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska is the Russian Chief executive officer of Basic Element company and a member of the Board of Directors and CEO of United Company RUSAL, a Russian aluminium industry company...
's Rusal: each reportedly owns over 25% of shares. In December 2010, Norilsk offered to buy out Rusal's share for US$12 billion; but the offer was declined.
History
Mining began in the NorilskNorilsk
Norilsk is an industrial city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located between the Yenisei River and the Taymyr Peninsula. Population: It was granted city status in 1953. It is the northernmost city in Siberia and the world's second largest city north of the Arctic Circle...
area in the 1920s. The government of the USSR created the "Norilsk Combine" in 1935 and passed control to the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
at that time. In 1943 Norilsk produced 4 thousand tons of refined nickel and in 1945 hit the target figure of ten thousand tons. Mining and metal production continued first with Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
forced labour, later with much volunteer labour, owing to the comparatively good wages offered.
In 1993 after the fall of the Soviet Union a joint-stock company was created: RAO Norilsk Nickel. Two years afterwards control over the deeply indebted company, that was bleeding cash at a rate of about two million dollars a day amid falling nickel prices, was given to a private company called Interros
Interros
Interros is a Russian conglomerate controlled by Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin with large stakes in mining, metals, energy, finance, retail, real estate and other sectors...
. By the time the privatization was completed in 1997, the company became profitable and the workers were paid. Nowadays average pay is over a thousand dollars per month and workers enjoy two to three months of vacations; nevertheless, working and living conditions in Norilsk remain harsh.
Starting in 2002, MMC Norilsk Nickel began purchasing gold mining assets, which were spun off in 2005 as Polyus Gold
Polyus Gold
Polyus Gold is a Russian mining and metallurgy company primarily concerned with the production of gold. Polyus is the largest gold producer in Russia. Polyus is controlled by Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov's ONEXIM Group conglomerate and Suleiman Kerimov.In 1990 Polyus was restructured as...
.
In 2003, the company took control of Stillwater Mining Company
Stillwater Mining Company
Stillwater Mining Company is a palladium and platinum mining company with headquarters located at Billings, Montana, United States. It is the only palladium and platinum producer in the USA. The only other North America based palladium/platinum producer is North American Palladium, located in...
, the only US producer of palladium. Stillwater operates a platinum group metals (PGM) facility in Stillwater, Montana
Stillwater
-Places:Canada*Stillwater, Nova Scotia New Zealand*Stillwater, Auckland*Stillwater, West CoastUnited States*Stillwater, Minnesota*Stillwater, Nevada*Stillwater, New Jersey*Stillwater , New York*Stillwater , New York...
in the USA. In November 2010, Norilsk Nickel announced that it was selling Stillwater.
During 2007, Norilsk has acquired a host of mining and metallurgical assets abroad, transforming itself into a multinational with operations in Australia, Botswana, Finland, Russia, South Africa, and the United States. The key deal was completed on June 28, 2007, when Norilsk Nickel acquired about 90 per cent of Canada's LionOre Mining International Ltd, the world's 10th-largest nickel producer at the time. This takeover (valued in $6.4 billion US) is the biggest acquisition by a Russian company abroad so far. It makes Norilsk Nickel the world's largest nickel producer.
Operations
Siberian Traps
The Siberian Traps form a large region of volcanic rock, known as a large igneous province, in the Russian region of Siberia. The massive eruptive event which formed the traps, one of the largest known volcanic events of the last 500 million years of Earth's geological history, continued for...
igneous province (STIP). The STIP erupted over one million cubic kilometres of lava, a large portion of it through a series of flat-lying lava conduits lying below Norilsk and the Talnakh Mountains. The Siberian Traps are considered to be responsible for the mass extinction event at the end of the Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
.
The ore was formed when the erupting magma became saturated in sulphur, forming globules of pentlandite
Pentlandite
Pentlandite is an iron-nickel sulfide, 9S8. Pentlandite usually has a Ni:Fe ratio of close to 1:1. It also contains minor cobalt.Pentlandite forms isometric crystals, but is normally found in massive granular aggregates. It is brittle with a hardness of 3.5 - 4 and specific gravity of 4.6 - 5.0 and...
, chalcopyrite
Chalcopyrite
Chalcopyrite is a copper iron sulfide mineral that crystallizes in the tetragonal system. It has the chemical composition CuFeS2. It has a brassy to golden yellow color and a hardness of 3.5 to 4 on the Mohs scale. Its streak is diagnostic as green tinged black.On exposure to air, chalcopyrite...
, and other sulphides. These sulphides were then "washed" by the continuing torrent of erupting magma, and upgraded their tenor with nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
, copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, platinum
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
, and palladium
Palladium
Palladium is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pd and an atomic number of 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself named after the epithet of the Greek goddess Athena, acquired...
. The current resource known for these mineralised intrusion exceeds 1.8 billion tons.
The ore is mined underground via several shafts, and a decline
Decline
Decline is a change over time from previously efficient to inefficient organizational functioning, from previously rational to non-rational organizational and individual decision-making, from previously law-abiding to law violating organizational and individual behavior, from previously virtuous to...
. The ore deposits are currently being extracted at >1,200 m below ground. The ore deposits are drilled from the surface.
The deposits are being explored using electromagnetic field
Electromagnetic field
An electromagnetic field is a physical field produced by moving electrically charged objects. It affects the behavior of charged objects in the vicinity of the field. The electromagnetic field extends indefinitely throughout space and describes the electromagnetic interaction...
geophysics
Geophysics
Geophysics is the physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the Earth using quantitative physical methods. The term geophysics sometimes refers only to the geological applications: Earth's shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal structure and...
, with detection loops on the Earth's surface with dimensions of over 1,000 m on a side. They are conclusively able to image the conduction nickel ore at depths in excess of 1,800 m.
Production divisions
The company currently has five main operational divisions:- The Polar Division of MMC Norilsk Nickel and ancillary activities, located in the Taimyr Peninsula
- Kola MMC, and ancillary activities, located in the Kola PeninsulaKola PeninsulaThe Kola Peninsula is a peninsula in the far northwest of Russia. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely to the north of the Arctic Circle and is washed by the Barents Sea in the north and the White Sea in the east and southeast...
(incorporating the Pechenganickel and Severonickel Combines, the former in NikelNikelNikel is an urban locality and the administrative center of Pechengsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the shores of Lake Kuets-Yarvi northwest of Murmansk and from the Norwegian border. Population: 18,000 .-History:In the 1920 Treaty of Tartu, Soviet Russia ceded the area of...
City and ZapolyarnyZapolyarnyZapolyarny , Zapolyarnaya , or Zapolyarnoye is the name of several urban localities in Russia:*Zapolyarny, Murmansk Oblast, a town in Murmansk Oblast...
, the latter in MonchegorskMonchegorskMonchegorsk is a town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kola Peninsula, south of Murmansk, the administrative center of the oblast. Administratively, it is incorporated as Monchegorsk Town with Jurisdictional Territory—a unit of administrative division equal in status to that of a district...
) - Norilsk Nickel Harjavalta, Finland's only nickel refining plant, purchased from OM Group in 2007
- Norilsk Nickel Africa, which includes stakes in mines in Botswana (85% of Tati Nickel) and in South Africa (50% of Nkomati), both formerly owned by LionOre
- Norilsk Nickel Australia, which owns several mines and facilities in the western part of the country, all of them currently "suspended for an indefinite period of time due to the deteriorated economic environment".
Environmental problems
The company has a back-catalogue of environmental problems that include:Ore is smelted on site at Norilsk. The smelting
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
is directly responsible for severe pollution, including acid rain
Acid rain
Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions . It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen...
and smog
Smog
Smog is a type of air pollution; the word "smog" is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. Modern smog is a type of air pollution derived from vehicular emission from internal combustion engines and industrial fumes that react in the atmosphere with sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine...
. By some estimates, 1 percent of the entire global emission of sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is released by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide unless the sulfur compounds are removed before burning the fuel...
originates here. Heavy metal
Heavy metals
A heavy metal is a member of a loosely-defined subset of elements that exhibit metallic properties. It mainly includes the transition metals, some metalloids, lanthanides, and actinides. Many different definitions have been proposed—some based on density, some on atomic number or atomic weight,...
pollution in the area is so severe that the soil itself has platinum and palladium content which is feasible to mine.
The pollution originating from Kola division of the company is also affecting Norway which since 1990 has offered financial support to clean up the operation. Due to a number of factors, however, this has not materialized.
2007 - Rosprirodnadzor (Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service of Russia) took water samples in Norilsk as part of the check up. The check up was initiated by the group of the city dwellers who filed the petition claiming deterioration of water quality due to industrial activity of NN branch in this city. Newspaper Kommersant was informed by Oleg Mitvol, the Chairman of Rosprirodnadzor, that results of the water tests were expected to be ready by the end of August. Company official said in their comment that NN spent over 19 bln roubles on environmental activity and 1 billion more will be spent till 2015. When asked by the reporter if Norilsk Nickel can suffer any consequences after the results of the check up, the state official said that he won’t make any promises or predictions.
The environmental problems at Norilsk stretch back over decades, but in the last 10 years when current NN management came to power it did not get much better. Back in 2004 M. Prokhorov claimed that NN will be able to resolve most of ecological problems in the area within 5–6 years. By 2008 this timeline moved to 2011 or 2015.Though NN claims to be socially responsible business and invests into modernization.
Norilsk Nickel has worked consistently to reduce emissions of major air pollutants. In 2006, the company reported investment of more than US $5m to maintain and overhaul its dust and gas recovery and removal systems. It asserts a commitment of nearly US $1.4m for its air pollution prevention plan. However, official statistics state that emissions remain extremely high. In 2006, international non-for-profit organization Blacksmith Institute
Blacksmith Institute
Founded in 1999, Blacksmith Institute is an international non-for-profit organization dedicated to eliminating life-threatening pollution in the developing world. Blacksmith identifies and cleans up the world's worst polluted places, focusing on communities where children are most at risk. Based in...
entitled Norilsk the name of the City of Horror. Norilsk is one of the most polluted places on the Earth. NN wrote a protest letter but state of affairs was left unchanged. Local environmental experts report that that although there have been some reductions in pollution levels, levels of SO2, HS, phenol, formaldehyde, and dust had increased; levels of nickel and copper had increased by 50%. Morbidity rates are stable and death rates are decreasing.
In September Rosprirodnadzor stated that NN significantly exceeds allowed concentrations of polluters in open water reservoirs (river Shuchya, river Novaya Nalednaya and others) located near industrial enterprises of NN objects. Also the agency stated very serious violations of temporary norms for certain polluting substances.
Nevertheless there were no measures taken against NN. In the end of December the company issued a press release on cooperation with Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service of Russia (Rostekhnadzor) and Norilsk Nickel signed a protocol of cooperation with regard to industrial safety and environment protection in the development of the Company’s operations.
Related organizations
Gipronickel Institute, in St Petersburg performs the design and construction of Norilsk's facilities. Gipronickel does research in every field of metallurgy, including extraction, patenting, design and more.Norilsk Nickel uses the port of Dudinka
Dudinka
Dudinka is a town and the administrative center of Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It was the administrative center of Taymyr Autonomous Okrug, which was merged into Krasnoyarsk Krai on January 1, 2007. It is a port in the lower reaches of the Yenisei River,...
to load nickel and palladium on ships for export.
Interros
Interros
Interros is a Russian conglomerate controlled by Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin with large stakes in mining, metals, energy, finance, retail, real estate and other sectors...
Holding Company, based in Moscow, is the controlling shareholder of Norilsk.
In partnership with Argosy Minerals of Australia, Norilsk attempted to operate Nakety/Bogota, a nickel mine on the island of New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
in the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
. Norilsk has withdrawn from this project.
Competition
Vale Inco, BHPBHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...
and Anglo Platinum
Anglo Platinum
Anglo Platinum Limited is the world's largest primary producer of platinum, accounting for about 38% of the world's annual. The company, based in South Africa, was previously called "Anglo American Platinum Corporation Limited". Anglo Platinum expects to produce approximately 2.9 million...
are important competitors to Norilsk in the production of nickel and of palladium.
Fleet
Company fleet performs sea transportation of cargo and semi-processed ore from separated area of Norilsk to the ports connected with the railroads. In 2008 Norilsk Nickel ordered five new ice-breaking cargo freighters.See also
- Nickel mining and extraction
- Copper mining and extractionCopper extractionCopper extraction techniques refers to the methods for obtaining copper from its ores. This conversion consists of a series of chemical, physical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, local environmental regulations, and other...
- Emily Ann and Maggie Hays nickel minesEmily Ann and Maggie Hays nickel minesThe Emily Ann and Maggie Hays nickel deposits are situated approximately 150 km west of the town of Norseman, Western Australia, within the Lake Johnston Greenstone Belt....