On the morning of June 28, Novaya Gazeta published a video of how water from a sludge pond of the Talnakh concentration plant (located on the Taimyr Peninsula, part of the Polar Division of Norilsk Nickel) flows into the tundra. In the Krasnoyarsk regional department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, they stated that there is a risk of runoff entering the Kharaelakh River, which flows into Lake Pyasino, RIA Novosti reports. The regional department of the Investigative Committee confirmed to the agency the fact of water discharge and the beginning of verification of these messages. The head of Rosprirodnadzor Svetlana Radionova wrote on her Instagram that due to heavy rains the water level in the sludge pond increased and the factory dumped water on the adjacent territory.
– –
“The factory management decided to pump out the clarified (purified. – Vedomosti) technical water to the adjacent territory, thereby flagrantly violating the rules for the operation of tailings. Responsible persons of the factory are suspended from work, an internal investigation has begun. There is no threat of waste leakage (tailings), ”the Norilsk Nickel press service said on Sunday.
– –
Rosprirodnadzor took samples at the site of the spill, their results are not yet ready, therefore it is impossible to talk about the scale, the amount of damage and its existence, a spokesman said.
– –
The Norilsk Nickel’s polar branch, which includes the Talnakh factory, provides for the production of more than 70% copper and more than 30% of the platinum group metals of the company. In 2019, Norilsk Nickel produced 499,000 tons of copper, 2.9 million ounces of palladium and 0.7 million ounces of platinum. The largest shareholders of the company are Vladimir Potanin’s Interros (34.6%) and UC Rusal (27.8%) previously controlled by Oleg Deripaska.
– –
On May 29, a much larger emergency occurred in Norilsk: about 20,000 tons of fuel oil spilled from the tank of the Norilsk Nickel TPP-3. The reason is the subsidence of the concrete site of the tank and its subsequent destruction. As a result of the accident, a huge amount of oil products poisoned the soil and fell into water bodies located near the CHPP – two rivers and a lake, providing water to local residents. Potanin at a video conference with Putin promised to eliminate the consequences of the accident at the expense of the company, spending about 10 billion rubles on this. By June 19, Norilsk Nickel had already invested 5 billion rubles. in response to the spill. In addition, Norilsk Nickel promised to send an additional 2.5 billion rubles this year. to check their other facilities, and in the next – another 11 billion. Potanin, because of the accident, even proposed to refuse further payment of dividends in 2020, and limit the total dividends for the year to $ 1 billion.
– –
Spillage of recycled water at the tailings pond is a typical accident for mining enterprises, many factories commit such violations on a daily basis, says ACRA analyst Maxim Khudalov. The increased interest in the situation is associated with a recent serious accident at the CHP, he notes. The consequences and the cost of their liquidation are not comparable; liquidation of an emergency at a concentration plant is unlikely to exceed 30 million rubles, Khudalov estimates. The fine for violations of water circulation will be insignificant – not more than 1 million rubles. “Fines for environmental violations for industrial companies are generally ridiculous: in 2019, 975 million rubles were raised. such fines, this is several times less than the drivers of Moscow paid for violating the speed limit, ”says Khudalov. The fine for the spill of fuel oil on May 29 has not yet been determined.
– –
“Draining water is, of course, not a major accident. But now investors are even more closely watching how “Nornickel»Solves environmental issues. In these conditions, even such trifles interest the investment community and can negatively affect the investment attractiveness of the company, ”said Irina Alizarovskaya, analyst at Raiffeisenbank.
– – .
