Andrei Bereziy
Doctor of Geology and Mining

Norilsk Concentrator

N

orilsk is thought to be the most northerly town in the world. An invaluable practice of harnessing natural resources in the complex conditions of the Arctic Siberian is an input into human values. An interest to this practice is growing due to an enormous potential of the Arctic interior still awaiting commercialization.
In the course of several decades, the Norilsk industrial region, one of the world biggest, was established in Taimyr Peninsula due to joint efforts of geologists, builders, mining and metal engineers. This region ensures the leading positions of Russia in the world market of nickel, copper and platinum metals.
Fedor Shmidt, a Russian scientist deputed to Taimyr by the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1866, was the first to mention the Norilsk sulfide ores. In 1915–1923 systematic geological studies were carried out with the participation of Nikolay Urvantsev, a famous investigator of the Arctic. Sulfide ores with a high concentration of platinoids were contoured in the area. Now it is the Norilsk-1 and 2 deposits. The commercialization began in 1935 when the construction of a mining and metallurgical complex started. In 1937 the initial 640,000 tons of ore were mined and a pilot concentrator was built. In 1939 the first converter matte was smelted, and in 1943, in the middle of World War-II, the first electrolytic nickel was produced. The establishment of a new industrial region is associated with the activities of Avraamiy Zavenyagin, a Soviet minister later on. The Norilsk Works is named after him.
In the 1960s there were identified and put into commercial operation the Oktyabrsky and Talnakhsky deposits, and large mines were built, along with the Talnakhsky Concentrator, the Nadezhdinsky Metallurgical Works, the satellite towns of Norilsk – Talnakh and Kaierkan. Exactly at that time the Norilsk Works joined the group of world leaders in production of nickel and platinoids. Here an industrial complex unique in organization and procurement, with high-quality mineral resources base of platinum-metal copper-nickel ores, own power reserves (coal and natural gas), skilled managers, engineers and workers, was formed.
The first half of the 1990s was a period of new tests. The mistakes of the initial stage of economic reforms – disintegration of economic ties and traditional markets of industrial products – resulted in a deep crisis of production operations. The revival of the works was due to the involvement of bank capital and the strategic courage of the managers from Interros Group. The new team using up-to-date technologies of marketing and business managed in a very concise term to stabilize the situation and win back the position of Norilsk Nickel in the world market. The re-equipping of all production stages began. The corporate plants implemented big projects for modernizing equipment and introduction of new technologies. It ensured an increase in the production of nickel, copper and cobalt.
In the last years some world nickel producers undertake measures on large-scale introduction of cost-efficient technologies of in-plant processing of laterite Ni-Co ores which reserves are abundant. However, the today’s nickel production is based on sulfide ores. The main part of registered world reserves of sulfide Cu-Ni ores is attributed to the Norilsk industrial region. These ores abundant in reserves are distinguished by complex nature and high concentrations of valuable components – Ni, Cu, Pa and other Pt metals.
Norilsk Nickel, its Arctic Branch in the main, has at its disposal over 35 % of world reserves of nickel, 9 % of copper, 14 % of cobalt, large quantities of platinum metals. The main ore fields – the Talnakhsky and Oktyabrsky deposits – are mined by three underground mines: Komsomolsky, Oktyabrsky and Taimyrsky while the Norilsk-1 deposit, smaller in scale and in operation since the 1930s, is mined by the Zapolyarny underground mine and an open pit under the name of Medvezhiy Ruchey (Bear Stream). The Arctic Branch, that is, the Norilsk industrial region, accounts for 80 % of the total tonnage of nickel produced by the company. The local reserves of rich ores of workable categories will be enough for over 30 years of operation. Apart from it, the preliminarily estimated reserves that will ensure the presentday level of production operations for 5 or 10 years to come were registered. The reserves of impregnated ores will secure a stable operation of the works for many years to come.
Nowadays Norilsk Nickel Mining and Metallurgical Complex produces nickel, copper, cobalt, gold, silver, palladium, rhodium as well as selenium and tellurium, solid fuel, building materials, heat and electric power. The Norilsk industrial region accounts for 22 % of world production of nickel, 10 % of cobalt, 3 % of copper. Norilsk Nickel is the world biggest producer of palladium and one of the leaders in the production of platinum. In the home market the company keeps about 98 % of nickel, 55 % of copper, 95 % of cobalt, the main part of platinum metals. Its share in the gross domestic product is up to 1.9 % and over 4 % in the currency receipts.
Norilsk Nickel carries out on-going consolidation and diversification of the production operations. On acquisition of Polyus golğmining company, it became the gold production leader in this country.

In the interior of the Taimyrsky Mine

A steady development of the Norilsk industrial region in hindered by, above all, a certain decrease in the quality of mineral resources base deteriorated by a long period of mining, a necessity to mine new types of mineral resources inadequately explored so far and a complication of geological and mining conditions for rich ore deposits. The reserves of natural gas of the existing Severo-Soleninsky, Yuzhno-Soleninsky and Messoyakhsky deposits, which provide for the operation of existing thermal power stations in Norilsk, are being depleted as well. But these problems can be solved for the company with an impressive production and investment potential. The possibilities of future development are implemented in a number of big projects of modernizing mining, mineral processing and metallurgical production operations and in the geological and economic re-estimation of mineral resources of nonferrous and precious metals. The commissioning of the big Pelyatkinsky gas condensate deposit is nearing completion.
In April, 2003 the Board of Directors of Norilsk Nickel JSC approved the strategy of developing production in Taimyr and Kola Peninsula till 2015. The corporate investments in the development and modernization of production operations are estimated at US$ 350–400 million per year.
The priority tasks include as much as possible reduction of costs in any production activity, provision of long-term effective and stable production, above all, on the basis of new technologies and equipment for better complex and all-round use of growing quantities of mineral resources, including new mineral types, state-of-the-art labor safety in mining and metallurgical operations, drastic decrease of emissions of contaminants into air.
Under this strategy, in the years ahead it is planned in the Norilsk region to build up ore output to 14 million tons and more, with the preservation of the presentday level of rich ore output (over 7 million tons), an increase in production of cuprous ores from 2.5 to 5.0 million tons and larger extraction of impregnated ores.
Depending on world market situation till 2005 and in the years to come – in case of a favorable situation it is possible to raise the production of nonferrous and platinum metals up to 20 million tons per year based on larger volume of mining impregnated ores and enlarged mineral processing facilities as well as higher rate of processing technogenic materials.

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Andrei Bereziy, 63 years old. Technical head of analytical team of Horilsk Nickel Mining and Metallurgical Complex. Graduated from the geological department and post-graduate course of the Lvov State University. Doctor of Geology and Mining. Distinguished Geologist of the Russian Federation. Full Member of Academy of Mining Sciences. For a long time he was a field geologist in the territory of Russia and foreign countries. For 14 years he occupied managing positions in the Ministries of Geology of the USSR and Russia. The main lines of his activities at that time are scientific support and coordination of geological survey works and their adaptation to market conditions, participation in formation of big mineral resources bases in Siberia, including Baikal-Amur Railroad Line and Norilsk industrial region. His field of activities now is the problems of mineral resources bases of liquid metals, evaluation of investment attractiveness of mineral deposits.

Combined mining of rich or impregnated sulfide and low-sulfide ores with high concentration of platinoids, highly-efficient self-propelled equipment ensuring a flexible response to requirements with respect to individual ore types and necessary volumes in underground mining operations, higher recovery of highly-valuable metals to concentrates in mineral processing operations quite comply with the demand for rational use of mineral resources.
Norilsk Nickel plans to use complex optimization of raw materials flows between processing and metallurgical operations. It will permit, with limited costs, to achieve a considerable improvement of technological and economic indicators, higher labor productivity. In particular, at the Norilsk Concentrator it is intended to implement the technological components from the Talnakhsky Plant with a high rate of extracting pyrrhotite from rich and cuprous ores, thus providing much better quality of selective concentrate.
Among the priority lines of modernization is large-scale application of hydrometallurgical process of nickel refining, introduction of new technologies of copper refining and precious metals refining processes.
One of the main tasks of innovative technologies is to decrease an ecological load, for the most part, due to the reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions that account for 97 % of total emissions of contaminants into air in Norilsk. According to the estimates of Norilsk Nickel, the problem of air emissions of deleterious gases in Norilsk will be solved in 5 to 6 years ahead. In particular, only a transition to autogenous smelting of total volume of concentrates at the Medny and Nadezhdinsky Metallurgical Plants will permit a 70 % decrease of sulfur dioxide emissions by 2007 as compared with the existing level. It is predicted that, based on the introduction of sulfate leaching of converter matte at the Nadezhdinsky Plant, an additional reduction of sulfur emissions will be reached. Along with it, it is planned to put into practice a salt drain treatment process which will afford a lower consumption of makeup water, a closeğloop water circulation system and a complete elimination of effluents to the water basin of Taimyr Peninsula.
In so doing, the implementation of the program measures of the above strategy, which are oriented, above all, to the rational, cost-efficient and eco-friendly use of mineral resources, creates real prerequisites of stable development of the Norilsk industrial region, preservation of the environment of the Taimyr Autonomic District, strengthening of the leading position of Norilsk Nickel in the world market of nonferrous and platinum metals in long prospect.
Simultaneously the initial conditions for speedy exploration of natural resources of the whole region of the Arctic zone of North Siberia, identification and commercialization of new big deposits of liquid nonferrous and precious metals, hydrocarbons, establishment of high-capacity transport (including ice-breakers for Northern Sea Route) and other infrastructures are ensured. It will further raise the significance of this region in the Russian and world economy.