Norilsk Nickel to build new enrichment plant in Norilsk
MOSCOW. Oct 27 (Interfax) - MMC Norilsk Nickel plans to build a new enrichment plant in Norilsk with annual capacity for up to 7 million tonnes of ore, the head of the mining giant's scientific and technical development department, Vladimir Dyachenko said in an interview with Interfax.
The plans for the new plant are included in Norilsk Nickel's production and technical development strategy for the period to 2025, which the company's board of directors will discuss on October 27.
At the new plant, Norilsk Nickel plans to differentiate facilities by processing of the same type of ore, Dyachenko said. Ore at the company's Polar Branch is divided into impregnated, cupriferous and high-grade.
"The same-type ore will be processed at specialized facilities designed according to the technologies especially developed for these types of ore. We are paying most attention, naturally, to enriching the most valuable - high-grade and cupriferous ore," Dyachenko said.
The company reckons that this differentiation of facilities will increase metal recovery. "We are still assessing the maximum level of metal recovery that we will be able to achieve, but I think it will be not hundredths or tenths of a percent, but percentage points of recovery. In commercial product, it could number in the thousands of tonnes," Dyachenko said.
Initially, the timetable for opening the new plant was tied to the launch of the Maslovskoye platinum-copper-nickel deposit in Norilsk.
"But having assessed all the advantages of introducing the new enrichment technologies and the technical condition of the existing plant, we are considering the issue of accelerating the start of construction of this new plant," Dyachenko said.
The Gipronikel institute is now studying the effectiveness of launching the new plant ahead of schedule, and based on this study Norilsk Nickel might make a decision on investing funds.