The Russian mining and metallurgical company Norilsk Nickel, owned by one of the richest people in the Russian Federation Vladimir Potanin, intends to reduce the production of nickel and cobalt, that is, key components for batteries. It is reported by Bloomberg.

As the publication notes, the reasons for the reduction in production: the delay in repairing the plant, the September fire at the refinery, the cessation of supplies of equipment and technologies by Western firms.

“The largest Russian producer of refined nickel is likely to reduce the output of this metal by 4-5% from the level of 219 thousand tons in 2022 due to repair work postponed from last year as a result of a problem with the supply of equipment. Cobalt production will more than halve compared to what it was before the September fire at the Kola NPP,” said Sergey Stepanov, senior vice president of the company..

Although the United States and Great Britain imposed sanctions against the main shareholder of Norilsk Nickel, Vladimir Potanin, no sanctions were imposed on the company itself and the export of Russian metals.

“However, the war in Ukraine has led to disruptions in logistics, insurance and transportation,” notes Bloomberg..

“Last year, the company focused on restarting its supply chains and was able to bring in some production equipment from Asia.

This year it will be necessary to carry out deferred repairs,"

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Norilsk Nickel controls about a tenth of the global nickel market. Nickel and cobalt are used in batteries and are critical to the green revolution.

However, Bloomberg believes that Potanin's company can produce 2.6 million ounces of palladium and 643 thousand ounces of platinum this year.. 2.79 million ounces of palladium and 651 thousand ounces of platinum were produced in 2022.