The LSE-listed miner has finally stemmed the water inflow at Oktyabrsky after completing phase two of its remediation plan on March 25, including installation of water barriers, filling the adjacent workings with concrete, and releasing water.

 

In excess of 32,000 tonnes of concrete was poured into the mine workings during repairs, the company said. Flooding at 350m depth was detected in the headwall at Oktyabrsky, which is connected via underground workings with Taimyrsky.

 

Production at Oktyabrsky is scheduled to fully resume in early May while the Taimyrsky mine is expected to restart a month later - representing phase three of the remediation plan.

 

Between them, the mines produce 9.3 million tonnes of ore annually. Earlier this month, Nornickel warned FY21 production could be up to 20% lower due to the flooding.

 

Nornickel shares have fallen 24% since a separate incident which resulted in the death of three contractors in mid-February, but rose 5.3% to 30.3p on Monday, valuing the PGM, nickel and copper miner at £33 billion. 

 

"Along with the recovery operations, the company is also taking measures to eliminate the risk of water inflow in the future," said Nikolay Utkin, senior vice president of Nornickel.

 

Separately, Nornickel's management team has proposed a capex spend of US$27 billion (RUB2 trillion) to 2030, subject to board approval. 

 

The eye-watering budget is part of its strategy to boost nickel-equivalent metal output by 30-40%, and production from the Norilsk Industrial Area by 80%, plus slash sulphur dioxide emissions.