Yuzhuralnickel not become part of Novatek

It is learned that the rumors about the purchase of «Southern Urals Nickel Plant», «Novatek» were not confirmed: the company is still a part of the association «Mechel» (through its subsidiary «Oriel Resources Ltd.»), and «Novatek» is not going to to become its new owner.

We recall that earlier this week the press reported that the Open Joint Stock Company «Southern Urals Nickel» (unprofitable asset mining and metallurgical company «Mechel») prepared for the sale to the new owner, who (according to unofficial data) should be of «Novatek». However, as it turned out, the press service of the latter denied this information.

For the company «Novatek» «Southern Urals Nickel Plant» is not a core asset. Her specialty — mining, processing and sale of hydrocarbons. However, in its domain, the company is a very prominent figure (according to GP «CDU TEK» last year, it became the second company in Russia in terms of production of natural gas after the «Gazprom» with a share of around 9% of the total production and about 16% of all deliveries resource), and theoretically could be the owner of the nickel assets.

OJSC «Southern Urals Nickel» (Orenburg region of the Russian Federation) — one of the largest and oldest industrial enterprises of the state, having worked in the sector minerals processing more than 70 years. In its resource base including two of the largest mine in the country — «Buruktal» and «Saharinsky» whose stocks of raw materials account for about 1 million tons of nickel and about 90 thousand tons of cobalt. These assets are covered major plant needs in the ore (in recent years, the South Ural plant produced about 1% of the total volume of production of nickel in the world).

After a number of reconstructions of power «Yuzhuralnickel» its annual production was 17.5 thousand tons. Non-ferrous metals and ferroalloys manufactured at the plant, successfully bought up by foreign customers (about 80% of the products produced by the enterprise is exported) and applied to the other subsidiaries, «Mechel» as an additive for the production of alloyed steel grades. However, in late 2012 the market rates for the purchase of nickel decreased, which led to a halt of production capacity.