JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Polar transport division of nickel and palladium miner Nornickel said on Wednesday it had shipped about a third of the 72 000 t of coal it planned to deliver to remote settlements in the Russian Arctic this year.
Nornickel, which is a key participant of the Northern Supply Haul programme, plans to ship about 48 000 t of coal by river barges and about 24 000 t by sea vessels to the hard-to-reach settlement of Taimyr.
So far, the company has delivered about 15 000 t of coal by river and about 7 000 t by sea, Andrew Trunov, deputy director of Nornickel’s Polar transport division said.
The division would complete its river-based coal deliveries by the middle of next month.
Nornickel would also deliver 3 000 t of miscellaneous goods to the Khatanga settlement.
Every year, the company’s vessels deliver coal, construction materials, metal structures, machinery, containers and equipment to communities in the far North of the country.