Russian miner Nornickel has presented to its board of directors a 2030 investment programme with a total capital expenditure budget of approximately RUB 2 trillion ($27 billion), the company says.

The investment programme includes major complex projects like environmental programmes; construction of new mines as well as concentrating and metallurgical facilities; modernisation of energy infrastructure; and a complex upgrade of existing production assets.

The long-term programme is split into two phases. In the first phase, the company will spend $17 billion in 2021-2025, and during the second phase about $9 billion will be invested in 2026-2030, Kallanish notes. The main specific projects include increase of ore production in the Norilsk Industrial Area by 80% vs 2017 to 30-32 million tonnes, increase of nickel equivalent metal output by 30-40% and a 20-times reduction of sulphur dioxide emissions in the Norilsk Division.

In addition, the comprehensive environmental programme also includes a number of other key projects, such as waste collection and land rehabilitation in the Norilsk region, construction of new treatment and rehabilitation facilities, application of new technical solutions, cleaning the pollution caused by environmental incidents, as well as ensuring safe operation of the tailing facilities. In March, the company paid a record fine of RUB 146 billion in compensation for an Arctic fuel spill last year.

At the same time, Nornickel has stopped water inflow at the Oktyabrsky mine and confirmed the near-term resumption of production at the Oktyabrsky and Taimyrsky mines. The next stage of the plan includes a set of measures to restore normal mine operation. Under the plan, Oktyabrsky mine (5m t of ore production) will fully resume production in the first ten days of May and Taimyrsky mine (4.3m t) is scheduled to resume production in early June.

“Along with the recovery operations, the company is also taking measures to eliminate the risk of water inflow in the future,” says Nornickel’s vice president Nikolay Utkin.

The company expects its metal production volumes to fall short of its 2021 guidance, taking a hit of 35,000 t for nickel and 65,000 t for copper.

In February, the miner partially halted production at its Oktyabrsky and Taimyrsky mines due to flooding. Operations have also been impacted by a deadly accident at the Norilsk Concentrator, where the disseminated ore processing circuit has been idled and repairs are being carried out.