Norilsk Nickel raises nickel output 3% to 222,900 tonnes in Jan-Sept
MOSCOW. Oct 26 (Interfax) - Norilsk Nickel , the world's biggest nickel and palladium producer, increased production of nickel by 3% year-on-year to 222,877 tonnes in the first nine months of 2012, the Russian mining giant reported on Friday.
The company produced 77,414 tonnes of nickel in the third quarter of 2012, 11% more than in the previous quarter.
Nickel production grew thanks to increased loading rate at nickel refinery Norilsk Nickel Harjavalta and the stable operations of Russian plants following the end of seasonal flooding, the company said in a press release.
The company's Polar and Kola divisions in Russia produced 58,433 tonnes of nickel in the third quarter of 2012, 3% more than in the previous quarter. For the first nine months of 2012, nickel production totalled 173,500 tonnes, which was slightly more than in the same period last year.
The Harjavalta nickel refinery in Finland produced 13,500 tonnes of nickel in the third quarter, 71% more than in the previous quarter. In the nine months, the refinery produced 34,500 tonnes of nickel. "The performance of the Harjavalta nickel refinery was affected by short deliveries of feedstock from third parties as well as by the substitution of nickel concentrate from Lake Johnston with Nkomati's concentrate," the company said.
Lake Johnston, an Australian operation of the group, produced 2,200 tonnes of nickel in concentrate in the third quarter. "In the reporting period the operation achieved the designed nickel recovery rates and quality of saleable concentrates," Norilsk Nickel said. Overall production of nickel concentrate at Lake Johnston in the first nine months of 2012 totaled 6,250 tonnes.
Tati Nickel, an operation in Botswana in which Norilsk Nickel owns 85%, produced 3,200 tonnes of nickel in concentrate in the third quarter. "The main reasons for growth of nickel output were the improved nickel grades in ore treated as well as the stability of enrichment process achieved through better performance of technological equipment," the company said.
Tati Nickel produced 8,700 tonnes of nickel in concentrate in the first nine months of 2012, up 19%.
The Norilsk Nickel group's share in the production of nickel in concentrate at Nkomati (of which the company owns 50%) amounted to 2,800 tonnes in the third quarter. The substantial growth of production of nickel in concentrate was achieved thanks to improved metal grades in ore treated as well as stable operation performance, the company said. In the first nine months of 2012, the group's share in production at Nkomati amounted to 6,800 tonnes of nickel in concentrate. All the concentrate produced at Nkomati in the reporting period is intended to be delivered to the Harjavalta refinery for further processing.
Norilsk Nickel plans to produce 295,000-305,000 tonnes of nickel in 2012, including 60,000-65,000 tonnes at its foreign operations in Australia, Botswana and Finland.