DJ MMC Norilsk Nickel: THE SIBERIAN BRANCH OF THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES PRESENTS A REPORT ON THE RESULTS OF THE GREAT NORILSK EXPEDITION
MMC Norilsk Nickel (MNOD)
MMC Norilsk Nickel: THE SIBERIAN BRANCH OF THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
PRESENTS A REPORT ON THE RESULTS OF THE GREAT NORILSK EXPEDITION
14-Dec-2020 / 11:04 MSK
Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement, transmitted by EQS Group.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
PRESS RELEASE
December 14, 2020
Public Joint Stock Company «Mining and Metallurgical Company «NORILSK
NICKEL» (PJSC "MMC "Norilsk Nickel", "Nornickel" or the "Company") the
world's largest of palladium and high-grade nickel and a major producer of
platinum and copper.
*THE SIBERIAN BRANCH OF THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES PRESENTS A REPORT ON
THE RESULTS OF THE GREAT NORILSK EXPEDITION*
Moscow, - The participants of the Great Norilsk Expedition [1] presented the
results of their work at the Russian Academy of Sciences and answered
questions from environmental specialists. During the field stage of the
expedition (July-September 2020), scientists from 14 institutes of the
Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences collected about 2,000
samples of water, soils, bottom sediments and living organisms in the
Norilsk industrial region and on the Taimyr Peninsula and carried out the
measurement of permafrost soils. Next, the research moved to the
laboratories of the academic institutes in the cities of Novosibirsk, Tomsk,
Barnaul, Yakutsk, Krasnoyarsk and Norilsk. Scientists were asked to outline
an accurate delineation of the contamination plume after the May accident at
TPP-3 near Norilsk, identify or disprove the occurrence of oil products in
living and non-living objects, restore the chronology of anthropogenic
pollution in Taimyr, and track changes in the food base of the inhabitants
of tundra and in permafrost conditions.
Field and laboratory studies became the basis for developing a report on the
condition of the territory surveyed by the scientists. The report presents
the results of research in seven main areas: "Geophysics and geochronology",
"Permafrost soils", "Hydrobiology", "Surface waters", "Soil and vegetation
cover", "Bottom sediments", and "Bio and zoological diversity".
The research results confirm that the Norilsk industrial region is a major
geochemical anomaly where the natural geochemical background is anomalous
for nickel and copper in all parts. It is characteristic of all deposits
that accumulated before the start of the economic development of the region.
The condition of terrestrial ecosystems near Norilsk to the Ambarnaya river
delta was recognised as unsatisfactory in terms of the level of pollution
and transformation. However, according to the scientists, with distance from
the leak the condition of the territories improves from satisfactory in the
section from the Ambarnaya River to the sources of the Pyasina River, to
excellent from the mouth of the Tareya River to the Kara Sea.
The study of soils at the site of the emergency diesel fuel storage facility
at TPP-3 and beyond shows that the thawing of permafrost at the base of
reservoir No. 5 and subsidence of the pile foundation, confirmed by the
study, could have been caused by underground drainage, the source of which
is a lake located near the destroyed object.
Partial degradation of plant communities has occurred in the study area, the
report says. The damage in the floodplains of Daldykan and Ambarnaya rivers
was recognised as serious. "The actual biodiversity of the entire region is
relatively low," the scientists say. "Moreover, no changes caused by the
fuel spill were observed in the sampled organisms."
The flow of a significant volume of oil products, spilled as a result of the
accident, into the Arctic Ocean and even into the central and northern parts
of Lake Pyasino is practically impossible. Studies also indicate that there
is no negative impact of the accidental spill on the ecosystems of Lake
Pyasino and the Pyasina River.
Valentin Parmon, Chairman of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of
Sciences, commented on the results of the expedition: "The Great Norilsk
Expedition is an important step for the Siberian Branch of the Russian
Academy of Sciences. We are back to exercising the very functions for which
the Academy of Sciences was created - solving national issues. In this case,
we are talking about environmental problems. At the request of Nornickel, we
conducted a comprehensive expedition for the first time in 30 years. The
results go beyond the company's interests, but this is exactly what is
required from science, as we are studying the current environmental
conditions in our country."
Andrey Bugrov, Senior Vice President at Nornickel, said at the presentation
of the report: "The goals of the Great Norilsk Expedition were not only to
investigate the causes and consequences of the incident at TPP-3 in Norilsk,
but also to commence a large-scale and comprehensive study of Taimyr's
ecosystems and climate change over recent decades. The Company will
carefully study the report presented at the Academy of Sciences and will
continue collaboration with fundamental science to introduce new approaches
to economic management in the Arctic in the face of increasing environmental
requirements from the government and growing public demand for cleaner
production. It is possible that one of the results of the expedition will be
the development of certain regulations, including regulatory acts of
nationwide scale, defining the framework for conducting economic activities
in the Arctic regions with very fragile ecosystems."
* * *
The Great Norilsk Expedition was organised by the Siberian Branch of the
Russian Academy of Sciences (SB RAS) in July 2020 at the initiative of PJSC
MMC Norilsk Nickel. The expedition team included scientists from 14 academic
institutes, who conducted field research during July-September, and then
performed laboratory studies of samples for two months. The result will be
the development of a new concept and principles of economic activity in the
Arctic zone of Russia. While studying the ecosystems of Taimyr and the
Norilsk industrial region, the SB RAS and Norilsk Nickel signed an agreement
on the joint implementation of a long-term programme to eliminate the
consequences of the oil spill in Norilsk, as well as to develop regulations
for industrial production in the Russian Arctic, taking into account the
principles of sustainable development.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
MMC Norilsk Nickel is a diversified mining and metallurgical company, the
world's largest producer of palladium and high-grade 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.
MMC Norilsk Nickel shares are listed on the Moscow and on the
Saint-Petersburg Stock Exchanges, ADRs are traded over the counter in the US
and on the London, Berlin and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges.
Media Relations: Investor Relations:
Phone: +7 (495) 785 58 00 Phone: +7 (495) 786 83 20
Email: pr@nornik.ru Email: ir@nornik.ru
ISIN: US55315J1XXX
Category Code: MSCM
TIDM: MNOD
LEI Code: 253400JPTEEW143W3E47
Sequence No.: 89601
EQS News ID: 1154833
End of Announcement EQS News Service
1: https://eqs-cockpit.com/cgi-bin/fncls.ssp?fn=redirect&url=3d881a4c7f24e76cd8ab04726448aef1&application_id=1154833&site_id=vwd&application_name=news
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 14, 2020 03:04 ET (08:04 GMT)
© 2020 Dow Jones News
