Posted on 24 Feb 2023
Russian miner Nornickel will decrease nickel production due to lack of access to equipment, says the company’s head of investor relations department Mikhail Borovikov.
In 2022, the company also expects a reduction in nickel production by 5% on-year to 204,000-214,000 tonnes, Kallanish notes.
“The company’s financial results may be affected by continued cost growth and furnace repairs at the plant, which is also one of the reasons for the reduction in metal output this year,” he said on BCS Live channel on YouTube. “At the end of 2022, there were no significant changes in the geographical structure of sales of Nornickel products, although some outflow from the key EU zone was observed.”
The share of Europe in the company's revenue decreased to 47% from 53% in 2021. The share of Asia grew to 31% from 27% a year earlier, while the share of the Americas remained at the level of 15%, and Russia and the CIS made up 5%.
“The relative stability is explained by the fact that last year the volumes contracted at the end of 2021 were mainly sold and Nornickel's clients fulfilled their obligations, as the company is not under sanctions,” Borovikov concluded. "Now the situation has changed. Probably, you will see a fairly strong flow to other markets from the European [market]. Changes can be seen based on the results of the first half of the year.”
According to him, this makes the long-term forecast for production growth by 2030 irrelevant.
“In 2021, we predicted a fairly large growth by 2030 for all metals, but now, given the realities in which we find ourselves, with the inability to supply equipment, a huge number of projects have been sent for redesign - both in mining and in metallurgy,” he observes. “This will take some time, and we will be ready to tell you more about the medium-term production growth no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2023."
According to the long-term forecast published in 2021, Nornickel planned to increase nickel production by 20-30% after 2030, up to 250,000-270,000 t/year. It was planned to produce copper by 20-30% more, at the level of 490,000-530,000 t.
Source:Kallanish
