MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/. Nickel output by Norilsk Nickel slipped by 2% in 2024 compared with 2023 to 205,000 tons, the company reported.
Copper output from the company’s own Russian feed (including Trans-Baikal Division) increased by 2% last year to 433,000 tons. "The growth was attributed to the low base of the previous year, owing to optimization of technological processes at the Copper Plant aimed at the copper cathodes quality improvement in line with new customers’ requirements," the report said.
Palladium production grew by 3% in the reporting period to 2.76 mln ounces, while platinum output added half a percent to 667,000 ounces.
Q4 nickel production rose by 5% quarter-on-quarter to 59,000 tons. "The increase in production was attributed to the completion of capital repairs of the flash smelting furnace #2 at Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant in the second and third quarters and reaching its design parameters afterwards," the company said.
Consolidated copper output (including Bystrinsky Copper Project) remained largely unchanged in Q4 at 106,000 tons (-1% q-o-q), all of which were produced from the company’s own Russian feed.
In 4Q 2024, palladium and platinum output amounted to 606,000 ounces (down by 10% q-o-q) and 146,000 ounces (down by 11% q-o-q), respectively. "The decrease in production was attributed to scheduled capital repairs of the flash smelting furnace #2 at Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant. Platinum group metals have a longer production cycle from mining to finished product compared to base metals that is why the scheduled capital maintenance impacted the production only in the fourth quarter," the company said.
"In 2024, the output of all key metals exceeded our production guidance as a result of improved operating efficiency. In 2024, the company completed reconstruction of the smelting furnace #2 at Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant. The furnace was practically fully re-built resulting in a 25% increase of its smelting capacity. We managed to complete this scheduled capital repair in 60 days instead of the planned 90 days," Senior Vice-President, Operating Director Alexander Popov was quoted as saying.
Norilsk Nickel is a diversified metals and mining company. Its production units are located in the Norilsk Industrial District, on the Kola Peninsula and the Trans-Baikal Territory in Russia, as well as in Finland.