MOSCOW, October 1. /TASS/. The Norilsk Nickel Company and the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Siberian Branch soon will sign an agreement on studies of the biodiversity in the Arctic and Trans-Baikal Region, the Great Norilsk Expedition’s press center said on Thursday.
"Soon, the Academy of Sciences’ Siberian Branch and Nornickel will sign a new cooperation agreement," the release reads. "Its subject is comprehensive field and laboratory works to study the biodiversity both in the Arctic, including Taimyr and the Northern Sea Route’s reference points, and in the Trans-Baikal Region."
In 2020, the Siberian Branch for the first time over recent years and at the invitation of the Norilsk Nickel Company (Nornickel) sent a big scientific expedition to Taimyr. Scientists conducted large-scale studies of the territory and assessed consequences from the fuel spill near Norilsk. The expedition continues in 2021.
"Nornickel has been proving consistently it is a responsible nature user and it launches detailed studies in the regions of its business," the release quoted the expedition’s leader and the Siberian Branch’s Chairman Valentin Parmon. "Currently, in compliance with the company's policy on the conservation of biological diversity, the Siberian Branch has developed a comprehensive program of basic studies and identification of the impact zones from Nornickel’s various facilities."
"The company’s representatives participate actively in the events of the Siberian Branch," the scientist said. "This systematic cooperation with the academic sciences, which have maximum research competencies and numerous examples of their effective combinations, can serve as an example for Russia’s all major natural resource users."
Nornickel’s Vice President Andrei Grachev in his turn stressed the synergy of initiatives from businesses and from sciences is a key to successful studies of the Russian Arctic’s heritage and future potential.
"The comprehensive results of the Great Norilsk Expedition offer an objective picture of the region’s current state," the company’s representative said. "They are used to determine most effective tools, methods and technologies to restore the ecosystem and to review the existing approaches to industrial development in the regions."
Norilsk Nickel is a diversified mining and metallurgical company, the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper. The company also produces cobalt, rhodium, silver, gold, iridium, ruthenium, selenium, tellurium, sulphur and other products. Norilsk Nickel Group’s production units are located in the Norilsk Industrial District, on the Kola Peninsula and in Chita region in Russia as well as in Finland and South Africa.