Russian mining giant Nornickel said Monday it was studying the impact of new U.S. sanctions on its subsidiary, which is not involved in the company's production and sales.
On Aug. 23, the U.S. imposed sanctions on several Nornickel subsidiaries as well as the Bystrinsky copper and gold project, which is controlled by Nornickel. The companies were listed among 400 entities and individuals “whose products and services enable Russia to sustain its war effort and evade sanctions,” according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
“The group’s production and sales companies, Norilsk Nickel, Polar Division and its subsidiaries, Kola MMC and its subsidiaries are not included in the US sanctions list dated August 23, 2024,” the company said in a statement.
Nornickel, the world’s largest palladium producer and a major producer of high-grade nickel, is not directly subject to Western sanctions. But sanctions against Moscow have prompted some Western producers to avoid buying Russian metal and the complexities of paying for it, shifting sales to Asia and trying to move some of their final stages of production abroad.
In its statement, the company did not mention sanctions against the Bystrinsky plant, in which Nornickel indirectly owns a 50.01 percent stake.
The remote project in Russia's Far East includes gold, copper and iron ore and processing plants, with the products mostly supplied to China. (ps/ns)
