KRASNOYARSK, February 25. /TASS/. The Norilsk Nickel Company (Nornickel), the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and one of the largest producers of platinum and copper, will present at the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum the South Cluster project to expand the company’s industrial assets in the region’s north, the Yenisei Siberia Development Corporation reported on Friday.
"The Nornickel Company will present the South Cluster project, aimed at ramping up production at the Zapolyarnaya mine, as well as at an upgrade of the Norilsk enrichment factory," the release reads. "Additionally, the project <…> will address wider strategic tasks, including development of the Northern Sea Route and building up the cargo transportation along it to 80 million tonnes."
The South Cluster unites the northern part of the Norilsk-1 deposit, the Zapolyarny ore mine, the Medvezhiy Ruchei pit and the Norilsk enrichment factory. Earlier reports said the company planned to invest in the project 70 billion rubles to 2027 ($832 million). The project is a part of the Yenisei Siberia complex investment project. According to the plan to develop the South Cluster, the total mining capacity of Norilsk-1 deposit’s northern part will make nine million tonnes.
About coal cluster
Another project to be presented at the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum is the project by the Severnaya Zvezda Company (a part of AEON Corporation) to build a coal cluster at the Syradasay deposit (110 kilometers south-east of the Dikson settlement). The cluster is a coal pit with the capacity of 5 million tonnes a year at the initial stage, and 10 million tonnes a year at the second stage. The project also includes the construction of a factory, the Yenisei sea port, a road, a town for shift workers, a power plant and an airfield. The amount of investments to 2025 will make more than 45 billion rubles ($535 million).
The Yenisei Siberia will present at the forum other projects: to organize a machinery complex in the Krasnoyarsk Technology Valley special economic zone, to build a biotechnology complex in the Boguchansky District, to renovate the former Krasnoyarsk shipyard, to build the Krasnoyarsk-City business center.
The Yenisei Siberia comprehensive investment project is aimed at implementation of national projects in Khakassiya, Tuva and the Krasnoyarsk Region. It was initiated in late 2017. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin supported the idea in February, 2018. In April, 2018, the regions inked an agreement on cooperation under the project.
About forum
The Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum is planned for March 2-4, 2022, in both offline and online formats. The Siberian Federal University will be the main venue. TASS is the event’s general information partner.