Norilsk Nickel reduces palladium production 13% quarter-on-quarter to 663,000 ounces, confirms annual forecast

MOSCOW. Oct 23 (Interfax) - Norilsk Nickel produced 663,000 ounces of palladium in Q3 of 2023, which is 13% lower than in the previous quarter, the company reported.

The decrease compared to the previous quarter was due to the production of ore with a lower content of platinum group metals.

Compared to the 712,000 ounces produced in the same period in 2022, palladium production fell 7%.

Over 9 months, palladium production totaled 145,270 tonnes, which is 1% higher than last year. This is due to the development of richer ore from the Oktyabrsky mine, an increase in the extraction of precious metals in the refining shop and the nickel electrolysis shop of the Kola Division and the development of work in progress.

Platinum production in Q3 2023 reached 160,000 ounces, which is 14% lower than in the previous quarter and 6% lower than the same period in 2022.

Over 9 months, platinum production increased 7% YoY to 528,000 ounces.

Norilsk Nickel confirmed its production forecast of 2.407-2.562 million ounces of palladium and 604,000-643,000 ounces of platinum in 2023. In this case, palladium output is expected to be 11% lower and platinum will be 5% lower than in 2022.

A condition for achieving these operational plans is the successful implementation of the mining equipment replacement program, Nornickel said. In the third quarter, testing of new mining equipment from friendly countries and the planned replacement of retired equipment continued.