Nornickel unveils initiatives to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on its employees and partners

MMC Norilsk Nickel (MNOD) 
NORNICKEL ANNOUNCES MEASURES TO PROTECT EMPLOYEES AND PARTNERS DURING 
COVID-19 PANDEMIC 
 
25-March-2020 / 11:30 MSK 
Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement, transmitted by EQS Group. 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
 
PRESS RELEASE 
 
                                                               25 March 2020 
 
       Public Joint Stock Company "Mining and Metallurgical Company "NORILSK 
          NICKEL" (PJSC "MMC "Norilsk Nickel", "Nornickel" or the "Company") 
 
   NORNICKEL ANNOUNCES MEASURES TO PROTECT EMPLOYEES AND PARTNERS DURING 
                             COVID-19 PANDEMIC 
 
       Moscow - PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel the world's largest of palladium and 
high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper, has announced 
         measures to counter the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic amongst its 
                                                     personnel and partners. 
 
    Despite Nornickel's operations are functioning in the ordinary and usual 
        course, the continued health and safety of our personnel remains our 
 absolute priority. In order to both protect the well-being of the Company's 
     employees and to ensure the continuity of business processes during the 
     spread of the novel coronavirus, Nornickel has established an emergency 
response team (ERT) consisting of heads of business units and chaired by the 
               First Vice-President for corporate security Sergey Barbashev. 
 
 The ERT is responsible for ensuring that production, procurement, sales and 
       marketing activities proceed as usual and that necessary measures are 
     undertaken to protect health of the employees. The ERT has a mandate to 
      develop and implement plans to achieve the aforementioned goals and to 
guarantee that measures are enforced unconditionally throughout the Company. 
  Similar regional ERTs have also been established at major operation sites. 
 
 "Our number one value is the life and health of all employees and providing 
them with favourable and safe working conditions is our key priority. We are 
    closely monitoring the situation with coronavirus and are ready to fully 
          cooperate with federal and regional authorities to deliver maximum 
 efficiency on measures taken to deal with pandemic," said Sergey Barbashev. 
 
      Nornickel has undertaken the following priority measures that aimed at 
    protecting the health of all employees and mitigating the scale of virus 
                               spread in Moscow and other regions of Russia: 
 
· The employees of Nornickel's Moscow headquarter were promptly 
transitioned to remote work. Employees of the Company's regional sites are 
in the process of transitioning to remote work. IT department provides 
employees with necessary technical means for efficient remote work. All 
employees working remotely maintains 100% of their salaries. 
 
· Nornickel cooperates with local authorities in the regions of its 
operations to implement measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus. 
In order to provide local healthcare institutions with necessary medical 
equipment and supplies the Company allocated more than 200 million roubles 
in charitable aid for these purposes. In particular, Nornickel plans to 
finance the purchase of 30 ventilators. 
 
· The ongoing shift of Bystrinsky GOK employees is extended until April 30 
for a total duration of 45 days. 
 
· Employees returning from countries with reported coronavirus infection 
cases (both business and personal trips) have been requested to 
self-quarantine for fourteen days. 
 
· Introduction of ban on business trips abroad and reduction of number of 
business trips within Russia. 
 
· Recommendation to Nornickel's customers and partners to cancel visits 
the Company's premises and prioritise remote video and audio 
communication. 
 
· Cancellation of all public events or making them virtual. 
 
· Installation of hand sanitizers and thermal scanners to measure 
employees' temperature as well as reinforcement of enhanced hygienic 
measures in all premises. Introduction of routine medical examination of 
employees. 
 
· A 24/7 hot line to provide employees with information on measures to be 
taken to mitigate the risks of the pandemic. 
 
· Prompt assistance to employees in countries with most unfavourable 
COVID-19 epidemiologic situation 
 
· Nornickel's subsidiury that operates the fiber-optic internet line 
between Novy Urengoy and Norilsk expanded its digital communication 
capacities for the Great Norilsk Area by 30% free of charge. This measure 
will be valid for the duration of the period indicated in Decree 54 by the 
Krasnoyarsk governor "On organizing and implementing measures aimed at 
preventing the introduction and spread of COVID-19 and on the timely 
detection and isolation of persons with signs of contamination throughout 
the Krasnoyarsk region". 
 
· The World of New Opportunities corporate philanthropy programme 
implementation will be adjusted. The Company decided to provide repayment 
holidays on loans granted to entrepreneurs for the development of their 
businesses for a period of six months. The schedule of grantees' projects 
and events has been adjusted: some of them will be hed in virtual format, 
while others have been postponed until the end of the health crisis. 
 
· Free corporate taxis for all employees of the head office whose duties 
cannot be performed remotely. 
 
· Introduction and regular update of a special section to the corporate 
internet portal containing information on measures being taken by the 
Company to prevent the spread of the coronavirus as well as information on 
hotlines and instructions. 
 
                                                           ABOUT THE COMPANY 
 
        PJSC «MMC «NORILSK NICKEL» is a diversified mining and metallurgical 
     company, the world's largest producer of palladium and high-grade metal 
        nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper. The company also 
       produces cobalt, rhodium, silver, gold, iridium, ruthenium, selenium, 
                                      tellurium, sulphur and other products. 
 
   The production units of «NORILSK NICKEL» Group are located at the Norilsk 
Industrial District, on the Kola Peninsula and Zabaykalsky Krai in Russia as 
                                        well as in Finland and South Africa. 
 
       PJSC «MMC «NORILSK NICKEL» shares are listed on the Moscow and on the 
Saint-Petersburg Stock Exchanges. PJSC «MMC «NORILSK NICKEL» ADRs are traded 
    over the counter in the US and on the London, Berlin and Frankfurt Stock 
                                                                  Exchanges. 
 
                                        Media Relations: Investor Relations: 
 
                         Phone: [phone] Phone: [phone] 
 
                                     Email: [e-mail] Email: [e-mail] 
 
ISIN:          US55315J1025 
Category Code: MSCM 
TIDM:          MNOD 
Sequence No.:  54461 
EQS News ID:   1006319 
 
End of Announcement EQS News Service 
 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 25, 2020 04:30 ET (08:30 GMT)