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Norilsk Nickel to finance social projects in three Russian regions

Nornickel has been organizing competition of social projects under its World of New Opportunities charity program for four years

CHITA, December 26. /TASS/. Russia’s leading mining and metallurgical company Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) announced winners of a competition among social projects, organized under its charity program World of New Opportunities. The contestants from Krasnoyarsk, Zabaikalsk and Murmansk Regions will receive 123.6 million rubles ($2 million), the company’s press service said on Tuesday.

"Nornickel considers winners of the competition 116 social initiatives from Norilsk and Taimyr (Krasnoyarsk Region), Monchegorsk and Pechenega district (Murmansk Region), and from Chita," the press service said. "The support for them would be grants worth 123.6 million rubles."

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Nornickel organizes a competition of social projects under its World of New Opportunities charity program for the fourth year already. Participants from Chita, near which the company had opened the Bystrinsky mining plant, joined the program during the current year.

According to the mining plant’s press service, Chita’s 143 projects competed for Nornickel’s grants, and 18 won the competition. The grants for Chita’s projects made about 24 million rubles ($415,000).

"The social initiatives are targeted at better living conditions and comfortable environment - those are: development of volunteers’ movement, new methods and technologies in work with children and the youth, organization of public spaces, expanding of the social services’ spectrum, creative potential development, and the environment protection," the press service said.

The competition had eight main nominations, ranged in size of grants. The biggest financing of up to five million rubles ($87,000) could be offered in nominations "Pole of City" and "Pole of North." These categories are aimed at better urban environment and development of ecology-educational projects. The funds in other nominations were from 500,000 ($8,700) to two million ($35,000) rubles.

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