Exclusive
Dr M'zée Fula Ngenge: Demand for considerable-sized diamonds stronger than ever
The African Diamond Council (ADC) chairperson Dr M'zée Fula Ngenge told Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa in an exclusive interview that although overall global diamond prices have been somewhat soft, the demand for considerable-sized diamonds...
02 september 2024
Amplats sees prospects as a standalone company
Anglo has revealed its plans to demerge Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), which has operations in South Africa and Zimbabwe, to optimise shareholder value. Rough&Polished contacted Amplats to comment on this and other issues but was referred...
19 august 2024
WFDB President Yoram Dvash Remains Confident Despite Global Diamond Challenges
Yoram Dvash is President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) having been elected in 2020. He found time in his busy schedule to speak to Rough&Polished about the state of the diamond industry around the world and some of the major...
12 august 2024
Lyudmila Vysotskaya: Amber is a mystical stone, a living substance
Lyudmila Vysotskaya is a Kaliningrad-based amber artist and designer, expert, chairwoman of the Amber Academy and member of the Creative Union of Artists in Decorative and Applied Arts. This summer, visitors could admire the art works by Lyudmila Vysotskaya...
30 july 2024
De Beers shines light on budding jewellery designers
Diamond giant De Beers will this year conduct its bi-annual Shining Light Awards jewellery design competition. De Beers beneficiation manager Kagiso Fredericks told Rough & Polished's Mathew Nyaungwa in an exclusive interview they set aside 4.5 carats...
22 july 2024
Norilsk Nickel's activities are important for Finnish Harjavalta - mayor
MMC Norilsk Nickel said on Thursday that it is seeking ways to supply raw materials to its plant in Finland after Finnish rail operator VR refused to carry Russian cargos from 2023. MMC is considering the possibility of working with other operators, as well as deliveries directly by sea, the company said. And on the back of rumors about the plant's possible problems, world nickel prices rose by more than 25% from November 10 to 17, the Kommersant newspaper reported.
“The city does not have the ability to influence any enterprise, the supply of materials for these firms or sanctions. The task of the city is to maintain the viability of the settlement. If it happens that Nornickel stops working, then 300 jobs will be lost and three times more jobs that are not directly related (with production - ed.) will be cut. And in the current realities, I would not like to think about it," Kuusela said.
Harjavalta is located in Western Finland, 29 kilometers from the city of Pori, the population at the end of 2021 is 6 785 people. Residents are employed in the copper and nickel industries. The city is home to the nickel plant of Norilsk Nickel, the copper smelter of the Swedish Boliden, and the first battery materials plant in the EU of the German BASF is being built there.
Nickel production in Harjavalta began in 1957 by the Finnish iron and steel giant Outokumpu, in 2000 the nickel division was sold to the American OM Group, which built and launched a nickel chemicals plant in 2002. Later, OMG decided to specialize in cobalt and in the spring of 2007 sold the Finnish division to the Norilsk Nickel group.
According to Nornickel Harjavalta's own data, the company produces 60,000 tons of nickel per year, the turnover is about 1 billion euros per year, and the plant concentrates about 5% of world nickel production.