Moscow, 27 July 2026 - Nornickel, the world's largest producer of palladium and a major producer of nickel, platinum and copper, announces preliminary consolidated production results for the first half of 2026.
First Vice-President - Chief Operating Officer, Evgeniy Fedorov commented on the operating results:
"In 1H 2026 the output of all key metals decreased, as expected, compared to the same period of last year. The decrease in production was driven by the scheduled equipment repairs, as well as of high base effect of previous period.
In the 2Q 2026 we continue to upgrade the mining equipment fleet as a part of the import substitution program and conduct annual schedule capital maintenance. As example, after a major overhaul, depletion furnace No. 1 at the Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant was restarted ahead of schedule. For the first time, all key furnace components were entirely designed and manufactured by the company's engineers, whereas previously they were imported. This demonstrates the potential for import substitution and creation of an internal competence center capable to replicate this experience across other process stages.
Another significant event was the commissioning of the Norda tunneling system at the Taimyrsky mine at the Norilsk site. The company became a pioneer in the Russian mining industry by using a tunneling system for underground polymetallic ore mining. Its technology will enable mining at great depths without additional ventilation costs and will also improve mining safety.
In Kola we begun the active expansion phase of the Severny mine, reaching a new 730-meter level horizon. The launch of the first complex is scheduled for 2028, which will increase the production by more than 1 million tons of ore to 7 million tons by 2030.
As part of our production chain reconfiguration, the Company plans to consolidate precious metal concentrate production at the Kola site. This will increase metal recovery, speed up the production process, and reduce costs, as the precious metal concentrate production cycle in Monchegorsk is significantly shorter. The project is being implemented using modern solutions and considers all potential environmental impacts. We remain committed to high environmental standards across all our production assets.
The company continues to implement its production efficiency improvement program and reiterates its previously announced production guidance for FY2026".