Bloomberg reported that OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel plans to spend SD 1.1 billion by 2016 to develop an eastern Siberian copper field and boost output of the highly conductive metal by 16%.

Mr Yury Filippov first deputy CEO of Norilsk Nickel said that the Bystrinsky deposit is expected to yield 62,000 tonnes of copper and 6.3 tonnes of gold in concentrate a year. Norilsk plans to complete a feasibility study this quarter and build a processing plant at the site by the end of 2016.

Norilsk, whose copper output above the Arctic Circle in Russia has been declining for the past six years, seeks to expand production of the metal to diversify away from nickel, where it controls about a quarter of global output. Bystrinsky lies near Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia, about 2,300 kilometers southeast of the city of Norilsk. Norilsk will mine as much 2.16 million tonnes of iron ore concentrate a year as a by product at Bystrinsky.

Mr Filippov said that "These volumes are insignificant for steel-related mining, still they will allow us to taste this business and be able to consider further expansion."

The second stage of the eastern Siberian project is the development of the neighboring Bugdainsky deposit. The ore contains molybdenum, which like nickel is used to make steel alloys.

Mr Filippov said that "We can sell it to our existing clients."

Mr Filippov said that Norilsk also plans to build a processing plant at Bugdainsky by the end of 2016 and produce 9,000 tonnes of molybdenum a year there starting from 2017. He declined to provide capital spending estimates for the project.

(Sourced from www.bloomberg.net)