International ecological conference has started in Norilsk

MMC Norilsk Nickel announces that III International Ecological Conference on environmental protection and industrial operations in northern conditions started today in Norilsk. The Conference is carried out within the framework of implementation of the program to considerably reduce the impact of the Company’s operations on the environment. The list of participants includes representatives of government authorities, Russian scientific community and specialists from German, United Stated, Canada, Italy, Finland, Holland, Austria and France.

Conference participants noted that in order to achieve its environmental protection objectives, OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel continues implementation of the programs on upgrading production facilities, bringing to life new technologies and environmental protection programs.

According to Evgeny Muraviev – Director of the Company’s Polar Division, implementation of environmental protection activities resulted in the amount of hazardous materials emitted being reduced by one quarter, compared to the Soviet period, during the last three years, the Company has allocated over RUB 42 bil. to implementation of the projects aimed to reduce the environmental impact of its operations.

Currently, MMC Norilsk Nickel is implementing activities in order to gradually reduce the amount of pollutants being discharged into the atmosphere from the metallurgical production facilities, located in Norilsk. This June, as part of the overall scope of activities aimed to achieve these goals, MMC Norilsk Nickel has signed a contract with Techint to develop a design which shall enable utilization of at least 95% of the sulfur dioxide discharged with the flue gasses of metallurgical production assets of Copper and Nadezhda Metallurgical plants, which will facilitate a considerable reduction in the amount of pollutants discharged into the atmosphere.

The participants in the Conference underlined that Norilsk puts in practice suggestions made at the last year Conference. In line with these suggestions, started a city landscapes greening and rehabilitation program, “Bolshoi Arkticheski” natural reserve and Norilsk municipality planted more than 1000 weather resistant trees and grass seeds adapted to northern conditions. Started as well a city-wide green-Norilsk planting action supported by the people of Norilsk.

The Conference is held in terms of Cooperation Agreement between the Rosprirodnadzor and the Company, signed in Autumn 2010. The agreement is a unique model of state-business partnership which guarantees new patterns of economic encouragement of private enterprise aiming at minimization of environmental hazards as well as patterns of ecological component of industrial economics.

Last year, prior to the Conference, a meeting of Public Council under the Rosprirodnadzor was held to evaluate the monitoring system of industrial environmental impact. Independent laboratories of the Siberian federal region were studying the last year behavior of monitoring system.

The independent experts came to a conclusion that their results are a 100% match with the results the Company presents to the supervising authorities which is another confirmation of the fact that the Company has an advanced and monolithic system of monitoring that permits to any citizen to obtain, among other factors, an up-to-date city ecological situation analysis.