Nornickel finalizes strategy of cooperation with China taking into account needs to maintain tax base, jobs in Russia

MOSCOW. Dec 16 (Interfax) - Norilsk Nickel has finalized its strategy of cooperation with China taking into account the need to maintain the tax base and jobs in Russia, Nornickel CEO Vladimir Potanin said in an interview with RBC TV on Saturday.

Cooperation with China envisaging processing cooper concentrate and sulfuric acid contained in it and obtaining competences in battery materials is part of Nornickel's new strategy through 2028, described as a moderate growth strategy by Potanin.

Norilsk Nickel said in spring that part of capacities of its Copper Plant could be moved from Norilsk to China.

It will enable the company to deepen its participation in production chains, in particular, in battery materials by sending copper concentrate to China for processing and solving the environmental issue this way, and in the future it would enable Nornickel to produce lithium-based batteries in Russia, Potanin said. After receiving technologies to produce battery materials from its Chinese partners, Nornickel, planning to develop the lithium filed in the Murmansk region together with Rosatom, could expand the range of its participation in the value creation chain.

At the same time, Nornickel is expanding its smelting capacities in Norilsk and increases them by expanding the Nadezhdinsky Metallurgical Plant, Potanin said. Nornickel will also continue facilitating the input of the Krasnoyarsk Non-Ferrous Metals Plant working in cooperation with it on production of final goods from precious metals.

"By adjusting our program this way and responding to the challenges our government has pointed us to, we have managed to receive support," Potanin said.

In particular, Nornickel plans to secure the tax base growth by 60 billion rubles a year by the time the new strategy is completed in 2028. The number of jobs will increase by 4,500 by 2030.

Nornickel faced the need to build new chains of value creation, supplies and settlements due to the refusal of Western partners to cooperate, he said. "We must build new chains involving the countries which at least state that they would not abandon their obligations," he said.

Nornickel had to forgo its aggressive growth strategy and switch to the implementation of a moderate growth strategy having reduced its investment program.