Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium, is launching smart contracts and tokens for its metals, as announced Tuesday at an online presentation by Investor’s Day, in contrast to all previous years when the event was held in London.
Norilsk Nickel is launching smart contracts and tokens for its metals, which will allow the company to deliver products to customers in a more convenient and transparent way. This will give the industry the tools it needs to ensure responsible sourcing and tracking its carbon footprint, along with other ESG requirements, the company is confident.
As the company representatives explained, building the ecosystem in partnership with the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network consortium, which works for IBM. The first deals with Norilsk Nickel metals are expected in December 2020. Norilsk Nickel will develop up to 20% of sales to consumers in 2021 through tokens.
“We are also exploring opportunities for investors through Ridgex, an ETC (commodities) issuer that operates on exchanges such as Deutsche Boerse, London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana and SIX (Switzerland) is carried out through the Atomyze platform, built on the IBM blockchain architecture,” said Anton Berlin, Vice President, Sales and Distribution of Norilsk Nickel.
To implement its growth strategy and environmental projects, Norilsk Nickel updated its long-term capital investment plan and announced that the investment cycle will enter an active phase in 2021.
“The total investment over the next 10 years is projected to exceed US $ 27 billion, including about US $ 5.5 billion for projects that have a positive impact on the environment. Capital investments in fuel and energy assets, including initiatives in industrial safety, will amount to about 4 billion US dollars, which should contribute to the modernization of more than 60% of the entire energy infrastructure of Norilsk Nickel”, noted Sergey Malyshev is Senior VP/Finance Director at MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC.
Over USD 1.3 billion will be additionally invested to increase the reliability of the company’s infrastructure. Together with these investments, Nornickel`s programme for energy infrastructure renewal for 2021-2025 is now exceeding USD 4 billion.
Based on these new programs, 60% of the company’s infrastructure will be totally renewed over the next 10 years.
“As global transition to ‘green economy’ will require more nickel, copper, palladium and platinum we are expanding our investments in environmentally friendly production growth. We also intend to be absolutely transparent and convenient to our customers by offering them new digital solutions. As an industry leader and a responsible miner Nornickel will continue to execute its strategy in a sustainable manner and respect the interests of all of its stakeholders”, Nornickel’s President Vladimir Potanin said.
Norilsk Nickel’s dividends for 2021 will be the last to be calculated in accordance with the shareholders’ agreement; the company expects a more balanced approach to dividends starting with payments for 2022, Norilsk Nickel Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Sergei Malyshev said during an Investor’s Day.
“As we approach the peak of capex, starting in 2023 and beyond, we expect a more balanced approach to dividend payments,” Malyshev said. “The dividend for 2021 due in 2022 will be the last one calculated in accordance with the agreement and using a formula based on EBITDA,” he added.
Andrey Bougrov, vice president of the company for ecology and environment, said on Tuesday that Norilsk Nickel will build a balanced waste management model and prepare for an assessment according to ICMM Global Standards.
“Nornickel launches regular monitoring of the impact on wildlife and expands support for nature reserves. By the end of 2020, it expects results from the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences on the results of the Great Norilsk Expedition to the Taimyr Peninsula. Scientists’ recommendations on the sustainable and safe use of human and environmental resources in the Arctic include the backbone of the company’s strategy for water, land and biodiversity,” he said.