Norilsk Nickel approached several Chinese battery companies for a possible joint project of a nickel processing plant which would use Russian semi-finished products, according to unnamed sources familiar with the matter cited by Reuters.
According to the news agency, CNGR Advanced Material and Brunp Recycling, a subsidiary of Chinese battery giant CATL, are among the firms approached by Nornickel.
The location of such a plant, if the project comes to fruition, may be the Hunan province in southern China, where many of Chinese battery sector firms are based, the source said.
Another source believes that the plant would produce nickel sulphate, a form of nickel used to make batteries for electric vehicles, from Russian nickel matte. It added that Nornickel may supply 50,000 metric tons of nickel a year, about a quarter of its current annual production.
There are "no talks between Nornickel and CATL or any of our subsidiaries regarding a nickel plant," Fred Zhang, international communications manager at CATL, said in a statement to Reuters. The agency’s sources said that some Chinese companies are wary of the risks associated with sanctions and may not be willing to work with Nornickel due to exposure to the global export market, where they may be running the risk of secondary sanctions.
Earlier, the Russian mining and metals company has announced plans to relocate its copper smelting operations to China in a move to circumvent Western sanctions against raw materials of Russian origin and bring the finished products closer to the main consumer.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished
