Hi Ptask,
any information regarding Noril'sk is very hard to find! But, I have found a few snippets which, to me, indicate that the Noril'sk mines are probably not economic producers and are probably stumbling along, going from one crisis to another. The have arrived these conclusions from the following:
a) the ore bodies appear to be low grade. Yes, the ore bodies are very large (50+ years of reserves) but that doesn't count for anything if the ore is sub-economic.
b) the PGMs are produced only as a minor by-product of the copper and nickel mining. That means that production of PGMs is tied to the copper and nickel production.
c) the mines and smelters had (still have?) an enormous workforce; 162,000 workers in 1993-4. Sure, Noril'sk produced a significant proportion of the world's PGMs and nickel. But, this production in terms of the numbers in the work force, is terrible. Production in 1993-94 was 162,520 tonnes of nickel, 313,800 t of copper, 2,830 t of cobalt. Plus PGMs.
d) there was (still is?) international concern about the environmental situation around the smelters. In 1995 the smelters spewed out 2.8 million tons of sulphur dioxide. I am glad that I don't live down wind! Living at Noril'sk must be very difficult, and I assume that the work force must be under considerable strain. A recent explosion closed down one small mine.
e) When the Noril'sk mines and smelter were privatized, the whole lot sold for only 236 million ECU. Sure, many of Russia's resources were sold off for peanuts, but apparently independent experts agreed that it wasn't worth very much more.
f) In 1998 the Noril'sk mines and smelters made a loss of 2.8 billion Roubles.
g) The management of Noril'sk has been looking at buying into large nickel operations overseas. They were looking at financing some of the Australian laterite projects. This begs the question, why be bothered if Noril'sk has such large reserves? Why not put the money into Noril'sk?
h) I may be wrong here, but haven't nickel and copper exports from Noril'sk dried up as well? By all accounts all sectors of Russian industry are living hand-to-mouth. It is not credible that they would hold back exports when they are desperate for money.
To sum up, I believe that Noril'sk has been subject to the same problems that are bedevilling most of Russia's industry. Management has concentrated in high grading and has not spent any money on development or maintenance (and may not be paying their bills, or paying their work force). And Noril'sk is in the process of falling over. |
