Norilsk Nickel proposes accelerated development area in Taimyr
MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Norilsk Nickel is proposing to create an area of accelerated development on the Taimyr Peninsula, in northern Siberia, the Russian mining giant's deputy CEO, Andrei Bugrov said at the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum.
The idea of creating areas of accelerated development, where companies would get five-year holidays on profit tax, natural resource extraction tax (except for oil and gas) and land and property tax, as well as lower insurance contribution rates, was proposed in President Vladimir Putin's address in December 2013.
Creating a mining and industrial cluster in Taimyr, where the main resource developer is Norilsk Nickel, would make it possible to tap the resource potential of this region and reduce its lag behind the national average in gross regional product, population density and investment, the company reckons.
"If this region is developed at the current pace, it will take several centuries [to develop its proven reserves]," Bugrov said. Meanwhile, 75% of Taimyr's area remains unexplored. Taimyr's basic internal infrastructure, despite its isolation from national infrastructure, could become the foundation for development.
Norilsk Nickel also notes that creating an accelerated development area in Taimyr would be a step in developing the Arctic, including the potential of the continental shelf and the Northern Sea Route.
Bugrov said that not only Norilsk Nickel is interested in developing Taimyr, "but also a whole range of promising investors." Musa Bazhayev's Russian Platinum is now gearing up to develop platinum deposits in the region.
Norilsk Nickel reckons the creation of a Taimyr mining and industrial cluster could potentially contribute $300 billion to GDP in the period to 2030.
The company expects that tax breaks would boost production of nickel to 0.4 million tonnes per year, copper to 0.7 million tonnes and platinum group metals to 224 tonnes. Growth in tax payments would boost regional budget revenues by 33% to $1.4 billion, the company estimates.
As an example of the effectiveness of selective state support for regions, Norilsk Nickel cites the gold and copper mining clusters created in Chile and Australia (Pilbara), a major iron ore mining region.
