Rusal Seeks to Disrupt Nornickel’s Strategic Projects
Rusal, Russia’s primary aluminum producer, has allegedly taken steps to disrupt several key investment projects by Nornickel, one of the world’s leading producers of non-ferrous and precious metals. According to a source close to Interros, Nornickel’s majority shareholder, Rusal’s actions have targeted initiatives critical to Nornickel’s growth and environmental goals.
Among these is Nornickel’s ambitious Sulphur Programme, part of Russia’s federal Clean Air Project. Launched in April 2022 at the Nadezhda smelter, one of Nornickel’s major facilities, the programme represents a $1.7 billion investment aimed at reducing sulphur dioxide emissions. The project involves capturing emissions, converting them into sulphuric acid, and processing it into gypsum using limestone. The first phase, launched in October 2023, is expected to cut sulphur dioxide emissions in Norilsk by 20% by the end of 2024, with total reductions projected to reach 90% after full implementation, including upgrades to the Copper Plant.
Rusal also opposed a joint venture between Nornickel and the Russian Platinum Group, which aimed to develop several significant mining deposits. Under the original plan, Nornickel was to contribute its licence for the Maslovskoye deposit, while Russian Platinum would bring licences for the southern part of the Nornickel-1 deposit and the Chernogorskoye deposit. However, Rusal’s intervention led to the cancellation of the joint venture. Instead, Nornickel and Russian Platinum agreed to an operational partnership, where Nornickel provided infrastructure access on market terms and managed product sales from the Chernogorskoye deposit.
Additionally, Rusal blocked a proposed spin-off of the Bystrinsky GOK, an enterprise that develops the Bystrinsky deposit in the Trans-Baikal Territory. This mining facility, one of Russia’s largest in the past three decades, produces copper, magnetite, and gold concentrates, with an annual production capacity of 10 million tonnes. The spin-off plan would have distributed shares among Nornickel’s major shareholders—Interros, Rusal, and Crispian—but was ultimately shelved due to Rusal’s objections.
Despite these challenges, Nornickel continues to solidify its position in the global metals market. For 2024, the company forecasts production of 184,000 to 194,000 tonnes of nickel, 334,000 to 354,000 tonnes of copper, 2.296 to 2.451 million troy ounces of palladium, and 567,000 to 605,000 troy ounces of platinum.
