Norilsk copper mine

Mining in Norilsk began with an open pit at Medvezhy Ruchei during the 1930s and was followed by underground operations at Zapolyarny in 1945. These two deposits form the Norilsk-1 mining area. Given their age and poor base metal values, the mines were going to close by 2001-2002 under the 1996 reorganisation plan. However under the production plan formulated during 1998-1999, and approved by the Board in 2000, their relatively high PGM content has assured their continuation until until the present day. In 2015 Norilsk commissioned the first stage of the Talnakh mill upgrade. The total investment was RUB3 billion and included the installation of new flotation cells, automated pumps and updating of power lines. The second stage of the upgrade, which raised milling capacity by 2.5Mt/a to 10.2Mt/a, from 7.7Mt/a was completed and launched in May 2016 at a cost of US$30 million.