Norilsk to Boost Platinum, Palladium Production with $10-billion Investment

Bloomberg reported that over the next five years, Norilsk Nickel (MCX:GMKN) plans to invest as much as $10 billion in order to boost its output. Its platinum and palladium production may increase from 2013 levels by about 2 percent each in 2016 and about by 10 percent each in 2018.

As quoted in the market news:

The company will focus on developing assets in Russia, mostly its Arctic projects, while it plans to sell assets in Africa and Australia, it said in a presentation on strategy to investors in London today.

Annual capital spending for 2014 through 2016 will be about $2 billion, including as much as $2 billion over the period to develop existing assets and as much as $3.2 billion of ‘stay-in-business’ expenses, it said. It will spend as much as $1.2 billion on new projects in the period.

Norilsk targets an increase of copper output of as much as 4.7 percent by 2016 to 375,000 tons reaching as much as 445,000 tons in 2018. Platinum and palladium output may climb by about 2 percent each in 2016 and by about 10 percent in 2018 from 2013 levels, according to the presentation. Nickel output is set to rise by 0.4 percent to 4.8 percent in 2016 to 230,000 to 240,000 tons and be at 225,000 to 235,000 tons in 2018.

Click here to read the full Bloomberg report.