Russian Platinum, NRS agree on freight deliveries to develop Chernogorskoye deposit
MOSCOW. Nov 2 (Interfax) - OJSC Northern River Shipping (NRS) will start delivering equipment and fuel in 2013 for the construction of the Chernogorsky Mining and Metallurgical Plant, which Russkaya Platina (Russian Platinum) (belongs to Alliance Group's owner Musa Bazhaev) is planning to launch.
NRS and Russian Platinum subsidiary Chernogorskaya Mining Company signed a cooperation agreement on Thursday, the platinum producer said in a statement.
Russia Platinum plans to deliver general and liquid cargoes from Arkhangelsk and Krasnoyarsk to the Dudinka or Igarka ports using NRS ships. The platinum producer has yet to choose the exact location of the terminal, a company representative said.
The agreement entered into effect at signing and is valid until December 31, 2021. Annual freight handling throughout that period is tentatively planned at 6,000 tonnes in 2013, 65,000 tonnes in 2014, 126,000 tonnes in 2015 and 146,000 tonnes a year in 2017-2021. Dudinka will handle equipment and mechanisms, construction materials and metal structures, technological freights, ammonium nitrate and oil in bulk.
Russian Platinum is also considering exporting nickel matte from Dudinka, the statement said.
Previously, the main option Russian Platinum was considering for processing nickel matte produced at the planned Chernogorsky processing plant (capacity 6 million tonnes of ore a year) was to organize hydrometallurgical production in the south of the Krasnoyarsk territory, with subsequent refinement to the finished metal stage at Krastsvetmet's refining capacities. Russian Platinum used this particular scenario in the Chernogorsky Mining and Metallurgical Plant's process layout, which it crafted in September and a copy of which has been made available to Interfax.
Although Russian Platinum is still prioritizing cooperation with Krastsvetmet, which is the only enterprise in Russia with technology for obtaining platinum, it does not rule out exporting product abroad for processing, a source familiar with the company's plans told Interfax.
The shipping contract signed with NRS indicates that annual, quarterly and monthly shipment volumes will be further revised in accordance with the shipping company's technical and technological capabilities, as well as with the specificities of the cargo being imported by Chernogorsky Mining and Metallurgical Plant.
Russian Platinum acquired Chernogorskaya Mining Company, which operates at the Chernogorskoye polymetallic deposit, from OJSC Intergeo last year. The deposit's balance sheet reserves come to 143 million tonnes, with average nickel content of 0.22%, copper content of 0.28%, and platinoid and gold content of 3.9 grams/tonne. Projected reserves total another 80 million tonnes of ore.
The project to develop the Chernogorskoye deposit envisages the construction of an ore mining and processing mill, capacity 6 million tonnes of ore a year, with future growth to 12 million tonnes if it processes ore from the southern portion of the Norilsk-1 field. Russian Platinum won a tender held by the Russian Federal Subsurface Resources Agency (Rosnedra) for the Norilsk-1 deposit in June, but it has not yet secured the license because it is entangled in a legal dispute with MMC Norilsk Nickel over the legality of Rosnedra's decision.
Russian Platinum plans to launch the Chernogorskoye deposit into commercial operation in 2013. The deposit should reach design capacity in 2015.
Founded in April 2011 on the basis of OJSC Artel Staratelei Amur, Russian Platinum is the second largest platinum producer in Russia after Norilsk Nickel. The company has been developing the Konder platinum placer deposit in the north of the Khabarovsk territory since 1984.