P. Fyodorov, Norilsk Nickel Executive Officer: the sanctions will not influence the development of the company

Neither the EU nor the USA are the states with a developed mining industry.

P. Fyodorov, of Norilsk Nickel tells Russia 24 TV Channel about the potential of relations with the Eastern states. The company is one of the first that re-oriented to the East and continues the correction of this strategy. He claims that all their first-class mining projects are located in Russia. First of all, they are the projects of the Norilsk industrial area and a number of projects at the Kola peninsula. Norilsk Nickel has analyzed in details all the African and Australian projects, and none of them could be regarded the first class assets on which the company would concentrate its efforts.

The eastern vector of development of the company’s economy is politically correct as well. Our Chinese partners are reliable metal consumers independent from Western sanctions. Nickel consumption rapidly increases in China. Now the state consumers 1 million tons of the metal a year, including nickelized cast iron, that is rather a lot. Speaking about the company’s supplies, before the talk about the sanctions and worsening of the external situation, they increased by 3 times from 30,000 tons in 2008 to 100,000 tons of nickel this year. Palladium sales have increased by 7 times, from 10 tons in the beginning of 2000-s to 65-70 tons now.