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56-524: Initially, the Norillag labor force was responsible for the construction of the Norilsk mining-metallurgic complex and for mining copper and nickel . Its activities gradually expanded into virtually all economical functions of the region, from fishing to "reconstruction of the house where lived Comrade I.V. Stalin in exile". Starting from 1,200 inmates in 1935, its numbers jumped to 9,000 in 1937 (the onset of

112-449: A commitment of nearly $ 1.4 million for its air pollution prevention plan. However, according to the official statistics, emissions remain extremely high. In 2006, Blacksmith Institute , an international non-profit organization, included Norilsk in its list of the world's 10 most polluted places. Nornickel wrote a protest letter but to no avail. According to local environmental experts, in spite of minor reductions in overall pollution levels,

168-564: A filtration dam at the Nadezhda Plant to overflow into the Daldykan River. Indigenous groups have accused the company of lax safety standards. At the end of 2016, Nornickel signed a contract with Canadian company SNC-Lavalin to introduce sulfur dioxide filtration and storage technologies on its plant in Norilsk in what was lauded as one of the largest environmental projects of its kind. Once

224-458: A firm affiliated with Nornickel, developing the field would require an investment of $ 1.5 billion, which including the necessary expansion of the port of Dikson, another Nornickel asset. The only competitor for the rights to the Syradasai Field was Golevskaya Mining Company LLC ( Russian : ООО «Голевская горнорудная компания» ). The Syradasai Field is 105 to 120 km southeast of Dikson in

280-474: A higher-than-normal level a year ago. The cluster is located below Norilsk's city center and to the south of it, in the north-eastern part of the Norilsk Geological Basin. In 2021, Norilsk Nickel estimated the mineral reserves of the cluster at 156.6 million tonnes of ore, 400,000 tonnes of nickel, 600,000 tonnes of copper, and 25.6 million troy ounces of platinum-group metals. The rights to some of

336-489: A lack of roads and the river being too shallow for boats or barges to pass. Former deputy head of Rosprirodnadzor Oleg Mitvol estimated the clean-up cost at about 100 billion rubles ($ 1.5 billion) and set a timeline of five to 10 years. In September 2020, the company reported having collected more than 90% of the leaked fuel. Environmental Resources Management , the international company which provides Norilsk Nickel with consulting services on environmental issues, identified

392-604: A list of 92 involved in onshore resource extraction above the Arctic Circle, in terms of handling indigenous rights. In 2018, North Star LLC changed owners to become part of businessman Roman Trotsenko's AEON Group. Neither Nornickel nor AEON disclosed the transfer of ownership terms. In the Arctic Environmental Responsibility Index (AERI), Norilsk Nickel is ranked No. 38 out of 120 oil, gas, and mining companies involved in resource extraction north of

448-814: A memorandum with VEB.RF and VTB to develop the field. The plans include open-pit mining in the eastern field section with an option for the subsequent underground development of its western part. The cluster is located below the Talnakh District and to its northeast, in the southwest of the Kharayelakh Geological Basin. Following the discovery of its rich reserves of copper-and-nickel ore, the cluster became Norilsk's primary source of mineral resources. Its proven resources include over 100 kinds of ore minerals, many of which were previously unknown to science: talnakhite, godlevskite, shadlunite, taimyrite, sobolevskite, mayakite, and more. In 2021, Nornickel assessed

504-499: A museum (the Arctic and Antarctic Museum ). Scientists, such as Alexander Karpinsky , Alexander Fersman , Yuly Shokalsky , Nikolai Knipovich , Lev Berg , Otto Schmidt , Rudolf Samoylovich , Vladimir Vize , Nikolai Zubov , Pyotr Shirshov , Nikolai Urvantsev , and Yakov Gakkel have all made contributions to the work of the AARI. Throughout its history, the AARI has organized more than

560-681: A new environmental strategy with ambitious targets to be reached by 2030 in six environmental protection areas. To honor its commitments, the company shut down Kola MMC's smelting shop in Nikel in 2020, eliminating 100% of sulfur dioxide emissions near the Russia-Norway border, followed by its copper smelter in Monchegorsk in March 2021. Combined with Nornickel's other green initiatives, these steps are expected to ensure an 85% decrease in sulfur dioxide pollution in

616-480: A shareholder agreement on the size of dividend payouts to end a conflict over the matter, as well as issues around the company's broader strategy and management. The agreement expires on June 1, 2023, and the prospects of its extension or suspension are unclear. In March 2019, Abramovich sold a 1.7% stake in the company for $ 551 million, predominantly to British-based and Russian investors. Potanin and Deripaska's Rusal were blocked from purchasing any shares. In 2021,

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672-429: A thousand Arctic expeditions, including dozens of high-latitude aerial expeditions, which transported 34(?) manned drifting ice stations Severniy Polyus ("Северный полюс", or North Pole) to Central Arctic. In 2019-2020 Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute joined a biggest in history Arctic expedition MOSAiC , where its scientists were primarily involved in measurements of sea ice mechanics and seismics. The AARI

728-538: Is 30 to 350 meters thick. The northern part of the deposit consists of two branches: the “Coal Stream” and the “Bear Stream”. Extraction has been ongoing since the 1940s at the Zapolyarny Mine through both underground and open-pit mining of the Coal Stream and Bear Stream quarries. The reserves of its northern section have mostly been depleted, and mining in the Coal Stream quarry has ceased. Russian Platinum obtained

784-803: Is a Russian nickel and palladium mining and smelting company. Its largest operations are located in the Norilsk–Talnakh area near the Yenisei River in the north of Siberia . It also has holdings in Nikel , Zapolyarny , and Monchegorsk on the Kola Peninsula , in Harjavalta in western Finland, and in South Africa. Headquartered in Moscow , Norilsk Nickel is the world's largest producer of refined nickel and

840-476: Is a critical metal in electric vehicle batteries , and palladium is critical element in catalytic converters , a component in natural gas vehicles . This plan was motivated not only by circumvent Western sanctions, but also China's significantly less stringent environmental standards than those in Russia. Nornickel is Russia's largest non-ferrous metallurgy company and one of the 10 largest private enterprises in

896-596: Is growing more than 2.5–2.8 times faster than the global average. Russia's Far North , including the Taymyr Peninsula, is heating up faster than anywhere else in the country, melting the permafrost on which many structures stand. Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute The Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute , or AARI ( Russian : Арктический и антарктический научно-исследовательский институт , romanized :  Arkticheskiy i antarkticheskiy nauchno-issledovatelskiy institut , abbreviated as ААНИИ )

952-610: Is located to the west of the Norilsk-Khatanga Fault. The primary development facilities are the Oktyabrsky and the Taimyrsky mines. The Oktyabrsky deposit accounts for about half of Norilsk Nickel's ore production. The company currently has five core operational divisions in three countries: Norilsk Nickel is known to be one of Russia's largest industrial polluters, releasing approximately 1.9 million tonnes of sulfur dioxide into

1008-497: Is the oldest and largest Russian research institute in the field of comprehensive studies of Arctic and Antarctica . It is located in Saint Petersburg . The AARI has numerous departments, such as those of oceanography , glaciology , meteorology , hydrology or Arctic river mouths and water resources, geophysics , polar geography, and others. It also has a computer center, ice research laboratory, experimental workshops, and

1064-621: The Arctic Circle. In April 2024, the United States and the United Kingdom announced a ban on imports of Russian aluminum , copper , and nickel . Due to sanctions, Norilsk Nickel planned to move some of its copper smelting to China and establish a joint venture with a Chinese company. Finished copper products would be sold as Chinese products to avoid Western sanctions. China is Norilsk Nickel's largest export market from 2023. Nickel

1120-570: The Great Purge ) and peaked in 1951 at 72,500, housed in 30 camp sections. Memorial estimates the total number of its inmates over the history of the camp at 400,000, with about 300,000 being political prisoners . The geography of this camp system included the Norilsk area, including Dudinka and Kayerkan , as well as more remote places, including Krasnoyarsk and some agricultural camps in Kureika (village) , Atamanovo and Shushenskoye . Initially

1176-500: The Murmansk Shipping Company (MMP or MSCO) ( Russian : Мурманское морское пароходство ) provided icebreaker services at a charge of $ 11.35 per tonne of cargo. Three submarines - the project feasibility threshold - were scheduled for refit and overhaul between 2000 and 2003. However, the stakeholders failed to reach an agreement as to who would conduct and cover the refit and overhaul of the submarines. Furthermore, money

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1232-437: The 11th largest copper producer. The company is listed on MICEX-RTS . As of March 2021, its key shareholders were Vladimir Potanin 's Olderfrey Holdings Ltd (34.59%) and Oleg Deripaska 's Rusal (27.82%). In December 2010, Norilsk Nickel made a share buyback offer for Rusal's 25% share in the company for $ 12 billion, but the offer was declined. In 2012, Potanin's Interros holding, Rusal, and Roman Abramovich signed

1288-543: The 1840s when Alexander von Middendorff's expedition found the local coal deposits. In the 1860s, Friedrich Schmidt described the coal and surface copper ore found in the field that would later be called Norilsk 1. In the early days of the Soviet Union, Nikolay Urvantsev's expeditions revealed several industrially significant deposits. The 1930s saw the construction of the Norilsk Mining and Metallurgy Combine, which remains

1344-469: The 1950s, but after the Talnakh Cluster was discovered, Norilsk 2 was abandoned. Located to the south of Norilsk 1, this field is believed to be an offshoot of the latter. Prospecting began here in the 1970s. The field stretches for over six kilometers from north to south and includes the northern and southern sections. Two by four kilometers in size, the northern section is up to 300 meters thick, while

1400-705: The AARI participated in the organization of Antarctic research. In 1958, it began to organize and lead all of the Soviet Antarctic expeditions, which would later make geographic discoveries, and in the same year the All-Union Arctic Institute was renamed Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute . In 1963, the AARI was incorporated into the Chief Administration of the Hydrometeorological Service (Главное управление Гидрометеослужбы) under

1456-488: The Murmansk Region by late 2021. In December 2020, Norilsk Nickel reiterated plans to cut group sulfur dioxide emissions in the Norilsk area by 90% by 2025 from 2015 levels and earmarked $ 5.5 billion for environmental projects, including $ 3.6 billion for sulfur dioxide capture and processing. On May 29, 2020, a Soviet-era fuel storage tank owned by Nornickel subsidiary Norilsk-Taimyr Energy (NTEK) collapsed, flooding

1512-598: The Taimyr-Turukhansk support zone ( Russian : Таймыро-Туруханской опорной зоны ). A 120-kilometer road and railway was expected to connect the deep-sea port on Cape Chaika to the massive coal deposit by 2019. CC VostokUgol ( Russian : УК «ВостокУголь» ) or Vostok Coal planned to export up to 10 million tonnes of coal annually from the open-pit mine to Western Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions. In 2016 Nornickel ranked below 65 other oil, gas and mining companies in

1568-399: The Talnakh Cluster in the northeast. In 2022 Norilsk Nickel reiterated its output guidance for the year and said that operations remain uninterrupted. In the first update since the invasion of Ukraine, the miner said first-quarter nickel production increased 10% year-on-year to 52,000 tons. Palladium output declined 8% to 706,000 ounces and platinum fell by 12% to 163,000 ounces, but only from

1624-731: The United States and Russia, to transport materials along the Northern Sea Route ( Russian : Северный морской путь (Севморпуть) ). Overhaul and refit costs came to $ 72–80 million per submarine, which included modifying its ice-breaking bow to cut through ice up to 215 cm (85 in) thick in seawater and up to 150 cm (59 in) in the freshwater mouth of the Yenisei. Decommissioned Typhoon submarines were expected to transport up to 12,000 tonnes of supplies and nickel between Dudinka and either Murmansk or Arkhangelsk . In 2000,

1680-425: The United States. Norilsk Nickel signed its key deal on June 28, 2007, acquiring about 90 percent of Canada's LionOre Mining International Ltd, the world's tenth-largest nickel producer at the time. This takeover, valued at $ 6.4 billion, was the biggest foreign acquisition by a Russian company at the time, making Norilsk Nickel the world's largest nickel producer. On February 27, 2008, Norilsk Nickel diversified into

1736-484: The air annually as of 2020, accounting for 1.9% of global emissions. Ore is smelted on site in Norilsk. The smelting is directly responsible for severe pollution, including acid rain and smog . The pollution originating from the Kola division of the company was also affecting Norway, which has been offering financial support to clean up the operation since 1990. In December 2020, Norilsk Nickel shut down its old smelter in

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1792-454: The area's environmental issues within 5–6 years. By 2008, this timeline had been moved to 2015. However, Nornickel claims to be a socially responsible business and invests in modernization. Norilsk Nickel has been working consistently to reduce emissions of major air pollutants. In 2006, the company reported an investment of more than $ 5 million in the maintenance and overhaul of its dust-and-gas recovery and removal systems. The company asserts

1848-401: The cause of the accident as subsidence resulting from the gradual melting of the permafrost on which the piles supporting the fuel storage tank stood. According to the results of the official investigation, some of the piles were shorter than the designed length and rested on the permafrost rather than being sunk into the bedrock. According to specialists, the average annual temperature in Russia

1904-411: The cluster's deposits belong to Russian Platinum, but the corporation is unable to start mining because Nornickel, which controls the remote area's infrastructure, is blocking access. The two conflicting parties have a protracted history of negotiating a joint mining enterprise. The district's first actively developed field is located in the south of Norilsk's city center and to the south of the city. It

1960-578: The cluster's mineral reserves at 1,5 billion tonnes of ore, 11.2 million tonnes of nickel, 11.2 million tonnes of copper, and 231.7 million troy ounces of platinum-group metals. The field stretches from north to south along the Norilsk-Khatanga Fault and includes its graben and the adjacent intrusions from the east. The primary development facilities are the Mayak, the Komsomolsky, and the Skalisty mines. The field

2016-529: The coal mining industry through North Star LLC by obtaining mining rights to the amount of 33.6 million rubles for the estimated 5.7 billion tonnes of coal at the Syradasai Field near the port of Dikson ( Russian : Диксон ) in the Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District ( Russian : Таймыр ). In the coal mining industry, it competed with Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton . By the estimates of North Star LLC ( Russian : ООО «Северная звезда» ),

2072-558: The company took control of Stillwater Mining Company , the only palladium producer in the U.S. Stillwater operates a platinum group metals (PGM) facility in Stillwater, Montana . In November 2010, Norilsk Nickel announced the sale of Stillwater. Throughout 2007, Norilsk acquired a host of mining and metallurgical assets abroad, transforming into a multinational company with operations in Australia, Botswana, Finland, Russia, South Africa, and

2128-567: The company's revenue amounted to 856 billion rubles. Mining began in the Norilsk area in the 1920s. The Soviet government established the Norilsk Combine in 1935 and passed control to the NKVD . In 1943, Norilsk produced 4,000 tonnes of refined nickel and in 1945 hit the target figure of 10,000 tonnes. The mining and metal production originally used forced labour from the Gulag system. In 1993, after

2184-615: The construction activities were handled by the Norilstroy (Норильстрой), while Norillag supplied the workforce and some infrastructure. In 1953, shortly after the death of Joseph Stalin , the Gorlag camp of Norillag system was the place of the major Gulag revolt, known as the Norilsk uprising . It was closed in 1957, together with most of the Gulag system. Nornickel Norilsk Nickel ( Russian : ГМК «Норильский никель» ), or Nornickel ,

2240-495: The country. In 2019, the company produced 229,000 tonnes of nickel, 499,000 tonnes of copper, 2.9 million ounces of palladium, and 0.7 million ounces of platinum. Globally, Nornickel ranks: Nornickel also produces rhodium , cobalt , copper , silver , gold , iridium , ruthenium , selenium , tellurium , and sulfur . Proven and possible reserves: The company's revenue in 2020 reached $ 15.5 billion, with net profits of $ 3.6 billion. Formed 250 million years ago during

2296-517: The current ones. In 2019, the group's total environmental protection expenditures were reported to have rocketed by 117.9%. The cornerstone of Nornickel's environmental program is the $ 3.5-billion SO2 Project. Aimed at recycling toxic SO2 emissions, the goal of the project is to achieve a 75% cut in SO2 emissions in Nornickel's hometown of Norilsk by 2023, growing to 90% by 2025. In 2020, Nornickel presented

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2352-665: The eruption of the Siberian Traps igneous province (STIP), the Norilsk-Talnakh nickel deposits are the largest nickel-copper-palladium deposits in the world. The STIP disgorged over 1 million cubic kilometers of lava, a large portion of it through a series of flat-lying lava conduits below Norilsk and the Talnakh Mountains. The Siberian Traps are considered to be responsible for the late- Permian mass extinction event. The district's first mineral resources were discovered in

2408-521: The fall of the Soviet Union, a joint-stock company called RAO Norilsk Nickel was created. Two years later, control over the deeply indebted company, which was bleeding cash at a rate of about $ 2 million a day against the background of falling nickel prices, was sold to a private company, Interros . By the end of privatization in 1997, the company had moved into the black, and workers were being paid. The current average pay exceeds $ 1,000 per month with an annual paid leave of two to three months. Nevertheless,

2464-769: The institute was integrated into the Chief Directorate of the Northern Sea Route (Главное управление Северного морского пути). In 1948 the Arctic Geology Research Institute (Научно-исследовательский институт геологии Арктики, or НИИГА) was established on the basis of the geology department of the All-Union Arctic Institute, which would subordinate to the Ministry of Geology of the USSR . In 1955,

2520-528: The levels of SO2, HS, phenol, formaldehyde, and dust have increased, with the levels of nickel and copper showing 50% growth. The morbidity rate remains stable, though the mortality rate is decreasing. In 2010, Vladimir Putin visited Norilsk and complained about the pollution, threatening a “significant increase in environmental fines” if the company did not modernize its plant. By 2013, owner Vladimir Potanin had begun to invest in environmental measures. In June 2016, Norilsk shut down one of its factories, which

2576-413: The mining rights to the southern section in 2012 but has not yet used them because of its conflict with Nornickel. The field is located near Mount Gudchikha to the east of Norilsk 1. In 1926, Nikolay Urvantsev discovered copper-nickel ore in the area, and mining began in the 1930s. However, the deposit turned out to be minor, and the decision was made to focus on Norilsk 1. Prospecting continued throughout

2632-473: The nearby Daldykan River with some 20,000 tonnes of diesel. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a state of emergency. The diesel oil was intended for the NTEK coal-fired combined heat and power plant as backup fuel. The fuel storage tank failed when the underlying permafrost began to soften. An area of up to 350 square kilometers (135 square miles) was contaminated. The cleanup efforts were complicated by

2688-472: The pillar of local industry to date. The fields are located along the deep Norilsk-Khatanga Fault, and most mining operations employ underground methods. The area is believed to hold around 35% of the world's known nickel reserves, as well as 10% of its copper, 15% of its cobalt, and 40% of its platinum-group metals. The district's fields are divided into two clusters: the Norilsk Cluster in the southwest and

2744-564: The project reached completion in 2020, sulfur emissions dropped by up to 75%. In April 2018, amid rising pressure from the Russian government and Western investment funds, the company announced its plans to invest in a processing plant worth $ 1 billion, which would convert sulfur dioxide produced during the metal smelting process into gypsum . The plant will be finished in 2022, in time for the company to meet its target of reducing harmful emissions by 75% and avoid financial fines 100 times higher than

2800-493: The southern estate, which is up to 400 meters thick, has an area of three by 1.5 kilometers[8]. The mining rights to the deposit belong to Nornickel, which in 2019 announced plans to launch an underground mining operation by 2029. The field is located to the east of the Maslov Field near Mount Chernaya. An intrusion with a mineral composition similar to that of Norilsk 1 is up to 200 meters thick. In 2021, Russian Platinum signed

2856-500: The town of Nikel on the Russia-Norway border. In 2008, Rosprirodnadzor (the Federal Environmental, Industrial, and Nuclear Supervision Service of Russia) demanded that a 4.35-billion ruble ($ 60-million) fine be imposed on Nornickel for polluting minor rivers with wastewater. The environmental problems at Norilsk stretch back for decades. Back in 2004, oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov claimed that Nornickel would resolve most of

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2912-554: The working and living conditions in Norilsk remain harsh, although they are improving as the company shuts down old factories that are the source of excessive pollution. In July 2000, Norilsk Nickel joined forces with the St. Petersburg Research Institute of the Arctic and Antarctic ( Russian : Арктический и антарктический научно-исследовательский институт ), to investigate the potential use of decommissioned nuclear powered submarines , both from

2968-493: Was emitting 380,000 tonnes of sulfur dioxide every year, 25% of the total of sulfur emissions in the city, in an effort to clean up its environmental record. It also said it would invest 300 billion rubles to modernize manufacturing by 2020. In 2016, Norilsk Nickel admitted that a spillage at one of its facilities had been responsible for a river in the Russian Arctic turning blood-red. The heavy rains on 5 September 2016 caused

3024-713: Was founded on 3 March 1920 as the Northern Research and Trade Expedition (Северная научно-промысловая экспедиция) under the Scientific and Technical Department of the All-Union Council of State Economy . In 1925, the expedition was reorganized into the Institute of Northern Studies (Институт по изучению Севера) and five years later - into the All-Union Arctic Institute (Всесоюзный арктический институт). In 1932,

3080-483: Was not the only issue. Under the existing international agreements, decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines from the two countries’ navies had to be dismantled. Should this obstacle be addressed, subsequent ownership of the refitted submarines also remained unclear: whether they would remain the assets of the Ministry of Defense or would be transferred to another governmental agency. One of the options suggested by Nornickel

3136-455: Was to establish a joint transportation company that would lease the vessels. In 2002, Nornickel accounted for the most of MMP's shipping along the Northern Sea Route. In 2008, Aker Yards signed a contract with Norilsk Nickel for the delivery of four container/cargo ships for Arctic operations, with an option for a fifth. In 2002, MMC Norilsk Nickel began purchasing gold mining assets, which were spun off in 2005 as Polyus Gold . In 2003,

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