Norilsk Nickel intends to commission a new cobalt production facility at its subsidiary JSC Kola MMC to replace the one damaged by a fire in 2022.
Interfax quotes Roman Sharkiy, general director of Nornickel’s subsidiary, as saying that pilot tests are currently underway at the facility, and it should be commissioned this summer.
He also noted that the new facility was built "taking into account all the identified shortcomings of the previous design." In particular, in the new cobalt extraction department, "we introduced modern ventilation systems and installed additional fire extinguishing equipment."
"Most of the equipment is Russian-made, we used modern automation and electronics systems," Sharkiy explained.
It was previously reported that the capacity of the new Kola MMC enterprise will be 3,000 tons of cobalt per year, before the accident it was 2,500 tons.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
