Senior Vice-President — Operational Director Sergey Stepanov commented on the production results, “Foremost, I would like to highlight a significant improvement in our health and safety performance. In 2022, the number of fatal accidents decreased to 4 from 11 in the prior year due to improvement of the health and safety management system and introduction of the wide range of initiatives aiming at prevention of occupational injuries. The main contribution to the decrease of fatal injuries was made by the Norilsk Division, with a 4-fold reduction, and the Trans-Baikal Division, which recorded no fatalities. Bringing down fatality rate to zero remains our most important strategic priority and I would like to reiterate that we will continue putting all necessary efforts to meet this target.
In 2022, Nornickel fully met its production guidance. The output of all key metals increased, with copper and platinum in line with the guidance, while nickel and palladium beating it. The main reason for the higher-than-expected production volumes was the postponement of the repairs of the flash smelting furnace #2 at Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant to 2023.
Last year, we managed to minimize the negative impact of the newly emerged operating risks, which occurred as a result of changes in the geopolitical situation. In particular, we rolled out new logistics and established new procurement channels to source equipment and spare parts both within Russia and from friendly countries. In 4Q 2022, our mining operations already started receiving machinery and spare parts from new suppliers.
Another significant priority for us was a recovery of Norilsk Concentrator’s ore processing capacity to its design parameters after the accident in February 2021. The modernization of the plant was successfully completed, with the full design capacity of about 9.2 million tons per year reached in December 2022.
In 2023, we expect that risks related to adverse geopolitical situation continue to affect our operations. Nonetheless, we are planning to continue our assets’ modernization and repairs program aiming at improving industrial safety. As part of this program, the repairs of the flash smelting furnace #2 at Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant are scheduled, which is expected to result in a small reduction in the output of finished products in 2023”.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
MMC Norilsk Nickel is a diversified mining and metallurgical company, the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper. The company also produces cobalt, rhodium, silver, gold, iridium, ruthenium, selenium, tellurium and other products.
The production units of Norilsk Nickel Group are located at the Norilsk Industrial District, on the Kola Peninsula and Zabaykalsky Krai in Russia as well as in Finland.
MMC Norilsk Nickel shares are listed on the Moscow and on the Saint-Petersburg Stock Exchanges, ADRs are accepted for trading on the Saint-Petersburg Stock Exchange.
Norilsk Nickel fully supports the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The company considers social responsibility and commitment to the principles of sustainable development as one of the pillars of operational efficiency and business development. Nornickel seeks to continuously improve its activities in the areas of environmental protection, human rights, health and safety, environmental impact assessment, and biodiversity preservation. The company spent RUB 221.5 billion on SDG-linked projects in 2021.
Vladimir Malakhov, Rough&Polished
