Deputy Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government and the region’s Minister for Industry & Science Alexander Petrov held a meeting with Alexander Timofeyev, the representative of the local Rezhnickel, Ufaleynickel, and Serov nickel deposit’s new proprietor HIGHMETALS KDS.

‘The plant is going through a rough patch at the moment. Thanks to the efforts made by Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Alexander Misharin and Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Federation President in Ural Federal District Evgeny Kuivashev, we managed to prevent the upcoming layoffs and the closing down of the plant. The enterprise’s facilities need to be upgraded in order to manufacture high-level processing goods, and this will make the business less dependent on the bourse quotations. We expect you to pay close attention to the company’s problems and we promise you all the support we can give,’ Petrov said.

Alexander Timofeyev pointed out that HIGHMETALS KDS was currently elaborating a multi-faceted action plan for the development of its new assets.

‘First and foremost, we intend to launch large-scale production facilities upgrades at Serov nickel deposit and to have a number of leaching tanks installed there. This actually means a new processing factory will appear there. In the medium run, we are also considering a thorough modernization program for Rezhnickel and Ufaleynickel, but the particulars of these projects will be announced after our action plan has been prepared,’ he said.

According to HIGHMETALS KDS representative, Rezhnickel will keep on producing H-3 nickel for the time being, as the stock exchange situation makes it possible for the enterprise to break even. In the future, one of the plants (Rezhnickel or Ufaleynickel) might get a cobalt manufacturing line.

Sverdlovsk Region Government stresses that HIGHMETALS KDS has nothing to do with Glencore, contrary to what Kommersant claimed when the paper wrote that one of Glencore structures had bought the plants.