Vedomosti published details of the company’s new strategy, which Vladimir Potanin spoke about in an interview with Interfax on April 22. It is noted that investments in the mining and processing facilities of Norilsk will reach 300 billion rubles, and another 150 billion in the development of the Northern Sea Route. At the same time, the total new projects will bring the state 40 billion rubles in additional tax deductions per year.
Photo: Andrey Kuzmin. Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=110247162
As company representatives clarified, the partial transfer of production at the Copper Plant to China implies the employment of all its employees in new jobs. In total, the new strategy involves the creation of 4.5 thousand new jobs.
“We guarantee that as a result of the project several thousand new jobs will be created, the tax base of the regional and federal budgets will increase in comparable macroeconomic conditions and all the saved funds will be used for modernization and technological development projects in Russia,” said a company representative, citing the words of its president.
Potanin also noted that it is planned to fill the additional demand for IT specialists and engineers: “We will both train them ourselves at the Polar State University and use the capabilities of the Siberian Federal University in Krasnoyarsk. This will have a certain synergy with our intention to be an anchor resident in the technopark in Krasnoyarsk.»
Investments will be directed to increasing the capacity of the Talnakh concentrating plant, the construction of the Medvezhiy Ruchey open-pit mine and the development of the mines of the Talnakh ore cluster. “We are now speeding up the construction of the third stage of the Talnakh enrichment plant, which will be needed in the chain of increasing production,” Potanin said. About 150 billion rubles will also be spent on expanding the logistics infrastructure of the Norilsk region and the Northern Sea Route.
The company will also use funds to develop new enterprises in Russia in partnership with major partners, which will allow it to diversify its business. These investments amount to 150 billion rubles.
By 2030, the lithium project of Norilsk Nickel and Rosatom in the Murmansk region will reach its design capacity of 45,000 tons of lithium carbonate. According to Vedomosti’s interlocutor, the Polar Lithium enterprise is close to concluding a contract with a Chinese partner as part of technology transfer. The Chinese company will participate in the development of ore enrichment technology for the Kolmozerskoe deposit and chemical and metallurgical processing of the concentrate. In addition, the partners will help the Russian enterprise in creating technological schemes and selecting equipment.
Potanin also emphasized that the partial transfer of the Copper Plant’s capacity to China creates the opportunity to develop the production of battery materials. This, in turn, will ensure the sale of products and the transfer of technology to Russia. The Vedomosti article notes that the use of technology will make it possible to create Russia’s first production of nickel-containing cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries by 2028-2030.
“Battery production is a key story for both transport and various industrial facilities. That is, we are transferring economically inefficient and environmentally painful production to China, and in return we get the opportunity to extend our value chain and gain advanced competencies that are necessary for both the company and the country,” explained Vladimir Potanin, adding that the project will allow us to avoid large losses , which are caused by difficulties with calculations, refusals of deliveries and forced discounts on metal.