Polar Branch of PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel, Norilsk, Russia

P. V. Malakhov, Chief Engineer of the Center of Engineering Support of Production, e-mail: MalakhovPV@nornik.ru

K. E. Voronin, Head of the Copper Plant`s Technical Department, e-mail: VoroninKE@nornik.ru

LLC Giproniсkel Institute, Saint Petersburg, Russia
S. S. Оzerov, Leading Researcher at the Pyrometallurgy Laboratory of the Department of Scientific and Technological Development, Candidate of Technical Sciences, e-mail: OzerovSS@nornik.ru
Е. А. Ivanova, Junior Researcher at the Laboratory of Pyrometallurgy of the Department of Science and Technology Development, e-mail: IvanovaElAn@nornik.ru

The tightening of environmental regulations both in the world and in Russia after joining the Paris Agreement has led to significant changes in the production configuration of PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel. Since 2016, there has been a phased withdrawal of obsolete facilities that do not meet the requirements of modern environmental standards in both the Norilsk and Kola Branches of the Company. The restructuring of production has led to a change in the logistics and technological schemes for processing raw materials, established over decades of stable operation. As a result, intermediate products manufactured by Kola MMC have begun to be shipped to the Polar branch of PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel. The range of processed raw materials, both rich and poor in non-ferrous metals, has significantly increased at the Copper Plant of the Polar branch of the Company. The result of the change in the composition of the raw materials involved in the processing is a violation of the technological process of melting in the Vanyukov furnaces with the formation of an “intermediate layer” and a deterioration in the quality of the dump slag sent to storage. The largest share among the imported products of JSC Kola MMC in the charge of Vanyukov furnaces is copper matte. Thermodynamic and laboratory studies have been carried out to involve the materials of JSC Kola MMC in processing at the stage of melting in a liquid bath. As a result of the research, recommendations have been developed for conducting the technological melting process in the Vanyukov furnaces of the current production.

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