OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel announces preliminary consolidated production results for the third quarter and nine months of 2009 at its Polar and Kola Divisions in Russia and at international operations in Finland, Australia, Botswana and South Africa.
In the third quarter of 2009, the Polar and Kola Divisions in Russia produced 58,000 tonnes of nickel which is 1,100 tonnes more comparing to the second quarter of 2009. Moreover, in the reporting period palladium and platinum production at the Polar and Kola Divisions amounted to 670,000 troy ounces of palladium, and platinum production reached 167,000 troy ounces, being slightly above the initial production outlook of the company.
In the third quarter of 2009, the Harjavalta nickel refinery in Finland produced 3,700 tonnes of nickel, including 3,300 tonnes of own saleable nickel and 400 tonnes of tolled nickel. The decrease of nickel production at the Harjavalta plant was due to scheduled maintenance and repair works in July to August, substantially lower volume of concentrate delivered by Talvivaara driven by production problems and technological issues experienced while launching furnaces after a stop at the smelting plant of Boliden Group, a processor of Harjavalta’s feedstock.
In the third quarter of 2009, overall combined production of nickel in concentrate by Tati Nickel and Nkomati totaled 5,800 tonnes, in line with the annual production plan.
In total in 2009, Norilsk Nickel expects to produce 232,000 tonnes of nickel at its Russian operations and 52,000 tonnes of nickel at the Norilsk Nickel International assets. The copper production is envisaged to amount to 382 thousand tonnes in the Russian Federation and to 20 thousand tonnes at our international nickel operations. Also, the Company intends to produce 2,680,000 troy ounces of palladium at the Pola and Kola Divisions and 170,000 troy ounces at the Norilsk Nickel International operations. The production of platinum is expected to reach 638,000 troy ounces in the Russian Federation and 30,000 troy ounces at our international nickel operations.
Norilsk Nickel Polar and Kola Divisions (Russia)
| | Q1 '09 | Q2 '09 | Q3 '09 | 9M '09 |
| Nickel, metric tonnes | 55,235 | 56,487 | 57,614 | 169,336 |
| Copper, metric tonnes | 90,751 | 94,385 | 96,866 | 282,002 |
| Palladium, thousand troy ounces | 557 | 726 | 670 | 1,953 |
| Platinum, thousand troy ounces | 132 | 168 | 167 | 467 |
Norilsk Nickel Finland
| | Q1 '09 | Q2 '09 | Q3 '09 | 9M '09 |
| Nickel total, metric tonnes | 13,149 | 13,956 | 3,776 | 30,881 |
| Own nickel, metric tonnes | 7,421 | 9,211 | 3,332 | 19,964 |
| Tolled nickel, metric tonnes | 5,728 | 4,745 | 444 | 10,917 |
| Copper, metric tonnes | 848 | 1,436 | 577 | 2,861 |
| Palladium, thousand troy ounces | 1 | 7 | 2 | 10 |
| Platinum, thousand troy ounces | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Norilsk Nickel Australia
| | Q1 '09 | Q2 '09 | Q3 '09 | 9M '09 |
| Nickel to third parties, metric tonnes | 1,223 | 0 | 0 | 1,223 |
Norilsk Nickel Africa
| | Q1 '09 | Q2 '09 | Q3 '09 | 9M '09 |
| Nickel total | 5,478 | 5,696 | 5,757 | 16,931 |
| Tati Nickel nickel to third parties | 5,069 | 4,993 | 5,195 | 15,257 |
| Nkomati nickel to third parties (50%) | 409 | 703 | 562 | 1,674 |
| Tati Nickel and Nkomati (50%) copper | 4,115 | 3,972 | 4,165 | 12,252 |
| Tati Nickel and Nkomati (50%) palladium | 32 | 32 | 32 | 96 |
| Tati Nickel and Nkomati (50%) platinum | 6 | 6 | 5 | 17 |
In tonnes
Total saleable metals production
| | Q1 '09 | Q2 '09 | Q3 '09 | 9M '09 |
| Nickel, metric tonnes | 69,357 | 71,394 | 66,703 | 207,454 |
| Copper, metric tonnes | 95,714 | 99,793 | 101,608 | 297,115 |
| Palladium, thousand troy ounces | 590 | 765 | 704 | 2,059 |
| Platinum, thousand troy ounces | 141 | 174 | 173 | 488 |