Nornickel Maintains Stable Metal Output in Q1 2025 Amid Market Turbulence
Nornickel, one of the world’s largest producers of nickel and palladium, maintained stable production in the first quarter of 2025, with only marginal declines in most key metals despite persistent headwinds in the global metals market. The company reported a 1.1% year-on-year decrease in nickel output to 41.6 thousand tonnes, a 0.4% dip in copper production to 109.3 thousand tonnes, and a 0.6% drop in palladium output to 745 thousand troy ounces. Platinum was the only major metal to see an increase, rising 0.6% to 180 thousand troy ounces.
The slight decline in nickel production was primarily attributed to scheduled maintenance at the Talnakh Concentrator and smelting operations at the Nadezhda and Copper Plants. Nornickel’s senior vice president Alexander Popov described the dip as “temporary and due to scheduled short-term repairs and maintenance of equipment, aiming to support steady operation of main technological units.”
Despite these minor fluctuations, the company has reaffirmed its 2025 production guidance. It expects to produce between 204,000 and 211,000 tonnes of nickel, 419,000 to 443,000 tonnes of copper (including volumes from the Trans-Baikal Division), 2.704 to 2.756 million troy ounces of palladium, and 662,000 to 675,000 troy ounces of platinum by year’s end. These targets remain unchanged, indicating operational confidence amid ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainties.
The company’s Q1 performance aligns with this conservative forecast and reflects its broader strategy to maintain stability through vertical integration and proactive asset management. Analysts highlight that such measures enable Nornickel to withstand market volatility, especially in light of declining global metal prices, ongoing sanctions, and domestic macroeconomic pressures such as a stronger rouble and elevated interest rates.
Nornickel also continues to advance its flagship environmental initiative, the Sulphur Programme, at the Nadezhda smelter. Two new process lines are currently undergoing comprehensive testing, and once operational, they are expected to cut sulphur dioxide emissions in half. The programme, which is a central part of the company’s long-term environmental strategy, is scheduled to reduce SO₂ emissions by 90% by the end of 2025. Nornickel has committed approximately 90 billion rubles (around $950 million) to environmental projects under this initiative.
In 2024, Nornickel produced 205 thousand tonnes of nickel, 433 thousand tonnes of copper, 667 thousand troy ounces of platinum, and nearly 2.8 million troy ounces of palladium.
