PRESS: Russian Platinum to speed up launches of two fields

MOSCOW, Sep 14 (PRIME) -- Russian Platinum group of companies plans to start production of ore at the copper, nickel and platinum-group metals fields Norilsk-1 and Chernogorskoye in 2020, earlier than 2023 and 2022, respectively, envisaged by licenses for the fields, Vedomosti business daily reported on Thursday citing a representative of the company.

A representative of the Federal Mineral Resources Agency said the company has not requested changes in deadlines for launches of production at the fields. But the representative of the company told Vedomosti that the company planned to launch the Chernogorskoye field in 2020 from the very beginning, and the simultaneous launch of the two fields will allow for a more efficient development of them.

Russian Platinum plans to spend about U.S. $6.2 billion on development of the two fields, and it will produce 2–3 million tonnes of ore at the Norilsk-1 field and 9 million tonnes of ore at the Chernogorskoye field in 2020, the person said without specifying the projected capacity of the two fields.

The company does not plan construction of any metallurgical facilities at the fields, and it will only launch an ore dresser for production of ore concentrate at the Chernogorskoye field in 2021. The company also wants to construct an ore dressing plant at the Norilsk-1 field, but the ground there is swampy, so it is unclear where and when the plant may be built at the field, the daily reported.

The representative also said that Russian Platinum may transfer some ore produced at the Norilsk-1 field to metals giant Norilsk Nickel for processing if the companies agree about mutually beneficial cooperation. A representative of Norilsk Nickel provided no comment on the matter.

Kirill Chuiko, an analyst at BCS, told Vedomosti that prices for platinum had contracted by about 50% since the company had bought licenses for the fields, but prices for palladium and copper had been growing lately due to demand for electric cars. The company wants to show that the fields may generate cash flow as long as prices remain high. This allows Russian Platinum to improve its bargaining point for attracting new partners, he said.

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