Agreements with Chinese partners on Norilsk Nickel JV possible in coming months - Potanin

MOSCOW. March 18 (Interfax) - Agreements with Chinese partners on a joint venture with Norilsk Nickel to establish copper production facilities in China are possible in the coming months, Norilsk Nickel CEO Vladimir Potanin told journalists.

"It's too early to talk about this now; work is underway. We have received government support for our strategic development concept, including cooperation with Chinese partners. We are working, and there will be results in the coming months," he said.

Expenses for this project are accounted for in the financial models for 2025-2026, Nornickel Senior Vice President and Head of Strategy and Business Development Sergei Dubovitsky said.

Nornickel plans to relocate the copper plant's capacities from Norilsk to China, creating a joint venture with partners in the country. This move will help resolve the plant's modernization issue, which has been complicated by the inaccessibility of Western equipment, as well as address difficulties with payments and avoid the discounts Nornickel has to offer clients due to voluntary refusals of Russian metals. Additionally, Nornickel hopes to gain competencies in producing battery materials.

Nornickel previously said that its capacities in China will be built by mid-2027, and the process will be synchronized with the phasing out of capacities at the copper plant. Nornickel plans to annually supply around 2 million tonnes of copper concentrate from its Zapolyarny division to the new facility.