What this place is
Norilsk lies above the Arctic Circle on the remains of one of the largest volcanic events in Earth's history. Its ore is why palladium supply is concentrated in two countries.
What comes out
Nickel
A silvery metal that resists rust, which is why it goes into stainless steel — and, more recently, into the cathodes…
Copper
The reddish metal that carries electricity better than anything except silver, and which humans have been smelting…
Palladium
Platinum's cheaper cousin for most of the twentieth century, then briefly more expensive than gold because petrol…
Platinum
A dense, unreactive metal that speeds up chemical reactions without being consumed by them.
Cobalt
A hard, bluish metal that keeps a battery's cathode stable so it does not overheat, and that holds its strength when…
Rhodium
The rarest of the metals traded in any volume, produced in tens of tonnes a year, and the only practical way to strip…
A “by-product” is a metal recovered because it happens to be in the same rock, not because anyone went looking for it. Its supply therefore follows the primary metal’s economics, not its own.
Who owns it
| Company | Role | Interest |
|---|---|---|
| MMC Norilsk Nickel | Miner | Owner-operator |
As publicly reported by the operators. Ownership of large mines changes; verify against current company filings before relying on it.