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Copper smelter in China (Photo: reuters)
Russian mining and metals giant Nornickel is negotiating with China’s North Copper Co. on a copper-processing deal that could allow it to shut down its highly polluting smelter in the Arctic city of Norilsk, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 15.
The proposed arrangement would involve processing Nornickel’s copper concentrate at North Copper facilities in Houma, Shanxi province, people familiar with the talks told Bloomberg.
North Copper would need to reconstruct and upgrade some of its facilities to handle Nornickel’s material, a process that could take as long as two years, the sources said.
Nornickel initially planned to build a new copper smelter in the Chinese port city of Fangchenggang when it first announced plans in early 2024 to move final-stage copper processing to China.
That project was subsequently put on hold after its Chinese partner withdrew late last year following management changes, Bloomberg reported.
Moving the final stage of copper processing to China, where many of Nornickel’s major customers are located, would help the Russian company reduce costs.
Western technology sanctions imposed following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine have restricted Nornickel’s access to equipment from Europe, the United States and Japan, making major industrial projects inside Russia significantly more expensive.
The negotiations with North Copper are focused largely on adapting its facilities to process Nornickel concentrates, which contain higher levels of nickel than material typically handled by Chinese copper smelters, Bloomberg reported.
Nickel products recovered during processing would then be shipped back to Russia.
Previous China project stalled
Nornickel announced in April 2024 that it intended to close its copper smelter in Russia’s Arctic region and establish copper production capacity in China by the middle of 2027.
At the time, CEO Vladimir Potanin said Western sanctions had made it increasingly difficult to obtain equipment and spare parts needed to modernize Russian production facilities.
Reuters previously reported that Nornickel had discussed establishing a joint venture with Chinese conglomerate Xiamen C&D for the project.
The plan centered on Fangchenggang on China’s southern coast but later ran into delays after Nornickel lost its local partner.
Closing the aging copper plant in Norilsk would also help the company address severe pollution in the Arctic industrial city, which has long struggled with sulfur dioxide emissions from metallurgical operations.
Nornickel is the world’s largest producer of palladium and a major producer of nickel, platinum and copper.
Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin remains the company’s dominant shareholder through his Interros group.
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