Norilsk Nickel announces preliminary consolidated production results for Q2 2010 and 1st half of 2010

OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel (hereinafter – “Norilsk Nickel” or “the Company”), the world’s largest nickel and palladium producer, announces preliminary consolidated
production results for the second quarter of 2010 and first half of 2010 at its Polar and Kola Divisions in Russia and international operations in Finland, Botswana and South Africa.
• Overall saleable nickel production in the second quarter of 2010 amounted to 75 thousand metric tonnes comparing to 70 thousand metric tonnes in the first quarter of 2010. The growth
in overall production volumes is mostly due to increased load of international nickel assets of the Company. In the first half of 2010 nickel production totaled 145 thousand metric tonnes,
representing a 3.3% growth as compared to the first half of 2009.
• Overall saleable copper production in the second quarter of 2010 increased to 103 thousand metric tonnes from 97 thousand metric tonnes in the previous quarter. The main reason of
copper output growth in the second quarter of 2010 is the superior performance of Russian divisions relative to the approved production plan. Overall saleable copper production in the
first half 2010 increased by 1.9% as compared to the first half of 2009 and amounted to 199 thousand metric tonnes.
• The Company has produced 804 thousand troy ounces of palladium in the reporting quarter, representing a 114 thousand troy ounces growth as compared to the first quarter of 2010. The
increase in palladium output in the second quarter of 2010 was largely driven by the growth of production at Russian divisions of the Company. In the first half of 2010 the overall output of
palladium augmented by 140 thousand troy ounces and totaled 1 494 thousand troy ounces.
• Overall platinum output in the reporting period reached 198 thousand troy ounces (+38 thousand ounces as compared to the first quarter of 2010), mostly due to the strong
performance of Russian divisions. In general, in the first half of 2010 the Company increased platinum output by 43 thousand troy ounces up to 358 thousand troy ounces.
In the second quarter of 2010 the Polar and Kola Divisions in Russia produced 57.3 thousand metric tonnes of nickel slightly exceeding the approved production plan. In the first half of 2010 the
production of nickel totaled 114.1 thousand metric tonnes which represents a 2% increase in comparison with the first half of 2009.
In the second quarter of 2010 copper production of the Russian divisions of the Company amounted to 94.7 thousand metric tonnes, surpassing the budgeted amount by 3 thousand tonnes. In the first
half of 2010 the production of copper totaled 185.3 thousand metric tonnes, being largely in line with the results of the first half of 2009.
In the reporting period palladium production at the Kola and Polar Divisions amounted to 751thousand troy ounces, which is 95 thousand troy ounces higher compared to the results of the first
quarter of 2010. In the first half of 2010 the output of palladium totaled 1,407 thousand troy ounces, representing a 9.8% increase as compared with the first half of 2009.
The Russian divisions of the Company augmented platinum output in the second quarter of 2010 by 32 thousand troy ounces up to 186 thousand troy ounces. In the first half of 2010, the Polar and Kola
Divisions produced 340 thousand troy ounces of platinum, constituting a 13% growth as compared to the results of the first half of previous year.

In the second quarter of 2010 the Harjavalta nickel refinery in Finland produced 12.8 thousand metric tonnes of own nickel. In the first half of 2010 the production totaled 21.7 thousand metric tonnes of
nickel as compared to 16.6 thousand metric tonnes in the first half of 2009. In the meanwhile, no tolled nickel has been processed in course of 2010. The substitution of tolled volumes by proprietary
output is being implemented with minor delays due to lower deliveries of materials for leaching treatment, caused by circumstances beyond the control of the Company. The Norilsk Nickel
Harjavalta refinery is envisaging catching up with the annual production targets in the second half of 2010.
In the second quarter of 2010 overall combined production of nickel in concentrate by Tati Nickel and Nkomati totaled 5.2 thousand metric tonnes. In the first half of 2010 these entities produced 9.6
thousand metric tonnes of nickel in concentrate. Before netting intragroup shipments the half-year results of African assets of the Company were largely in line with the production results of the first half
of 2009. In the reporting period no mining and metallurgical works were performed at the Australian assets. The stated production volumes do not include the production results of Stillwater Mining Company, a
subsidiary of the Company.