MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. Russia’s mining and metals company Norilsk Nickel plans to boost nickel output to 225,000-235,000 tonnes in 2020 from 220,000-225,000 tonnes in the previous year, according to the company’s presentation for Investor Day.

Production of palladium and platinum may drop to 103,000-106,000 ounces in 2020 compared with 106,000-108,000 ounces expected to be produced in 2019. Copper output may stay at the level of 2019 (430,000-450,000 tonnes) and equal 420,000-440,000 tonnes, the presentation said. Nickel and PGM volumes are expected to decline due to and subject to planned furnaces maintenance at Nadezhda smelter, the company noted.

In 2021-2022, nickel production may shrink to 215,000-225,000 tonnes, while palladium and platinum output may rise to 105,000-115,000 ounces.

Copper output may decline to 390,000-420,000 tonnes in 2021-2022 due to secondary feedstock depletion. However, the company expects production to recover in 2024-2025 driven by growth of mined ore volumes, the presentation said.

The company’s management expects supplies of platinum-group metals to the global market by 2030 to be sufficient for production of 25-40 mln autocatalysts, which in its turn will reduce air pollutants by 170-270 mln tonnes. Moreover, the announced growth of nickel output will allow production of 3.5-5.5 mln nickel-rich EV battery packs, which will reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 50-100 mln tonnes, Nornickel stated.