Russia's Norilsk Nickel starts Arctic plant after first upgrade

"The project will raise productivity and improve the quality of output products."
Russia's Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest nickel and palladium miner, has started pilot operations at its Arctic-based Talnakh concentrator plant after the first stage of an upgrade to improve productivity, The Economic Times in India reports.

The project is part of Norilsk's strategy to focus on large, low-cost production projects in Russia's Arctic region while selling non-core assets abroad. 

Talnakh is part of the northern Norilsk region. Some 30 percent of the region's 220,000 population are employed by Norilsk Nickel, a $23 billion company that mines 14 percent of the world's nickel and 40 percent of its palladium, a metal used in car exhausts and jewellery.