Moscow, September 15, 2022 — PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper, announces that the fire in the cobalt section of the Kola MMC Nickel Electrowinning Shop-2 has been extinguished.

The company’s platinum group metals production chain is intact and operating normally.

The main part of the shop’s building, including the finished products storage and nickel electrowinning sections, according to preliminary estimates, have not been affected. The Company conducted a test run of the nickel production line at the shop. An additional examination of the condition of the building and equipment is underway. The areas affected by the fire have been decommissioned, and the structures and equipment are being inspected with additional safety measures in place.

Nornickel’s specialists are assessing the scale and timing of the work required to mitigate the impact of the fire on cobalt production. Until it is fully restored, the Company is able to produce cobalt in the form of concentrate.

Measurements by the controlling services showed that the concentration of pollutants in the air in Monchegorsk is below the maximum permissible values. In close cooperation with the regional authorities and the territorial department of Russia’s health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor (Russian Federal State Agency for Health and Consumer Rights), enhanced monitoring of the atmosphere in and around the city has been organised. The Company plans a comprehensive study to make sure there has been no negative impact on the environment, including on the outskirts of the city of Monchegorsk. Up-to-date information on the state of the air is promptly made available to the public online via vk.com.

The shop’s cobalt section personnel continue to work at other workplaces within the shop and receive their salaries.

A special commission, established under the North-West Department of Russia’s operational safety watchdog Rostechnadzor (Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Supervision) is establishing the reasons and circumstances of the accident.

For reference

The fire in the cobalt section of the electrowinning shop broke out on September 14 at 09:04 a.m. local time and was extinguished on September 14 at 21:32. The size of the affected area is 600 m2, the cobalt section of the shop was damaged by the fire. The personnel of the electrowinning shop and adjacent buildings were promptly evacuated; no one was injured.

Fire at Kola MMC extinguished. Nickel and platinum group metals production unaffected