PRESS RELEASE
Public Joint Stock Company «Mining and Metallurgical Company «NORILSK NICKEL» (PJSC "MMC "Norilsk Nickel", "Nornickel" or the "Company")
NORNICKEL BELIEVES THAT ROSPRIRODNADZOR'S DECISION TO GO TO COURT IS PREMATURE
Moscow, September 10, 2020 - Nornickel, the world's largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper, notes the announcement of the Yenisei Interregional Department of the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources ("Rosprirodnadzor") that it filed today a claim with the Arbitration Court of the Krasnoyarsk region against Norilsk-Taymyr Energy Company (NTEC), a subsidiary of the Company, seeking compensation of damages caused to the environment in the amount of 147,784,627,500 Russian roubles (which is equivalent to approximately U.S.$1.94 billion) as a result of the diesel fuel spill incident on 29 May 2020 at Heat and Power Plant № 3 (HPP-3) in the Kayerkan neighborhood of the city of Norilsk.
We believe that Rosprirodnadzor's decision to go to court is premature because even though the river cleanup is completed, the final assessment of the amount of diesel which has been collected has not been completed yet. The Company took an active part in the experts' dialogue within the joint working group set up with Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources. Our joint work should result in a rehabilitation plan. We still believe that only after the completion of the work and the expert review will we able to determine accurately the amount of fuel that had gotten into water and soil, and thus, estimate correctly the amount of environmental damage.
We hope that the consideration of our case in court will allow us to obtain a fair assessment of the environmental impact of the incident and results of the cleanup campaign.
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.
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