Nornickel mined 667,000 ounces of platinum and 2.73 million ounces of palladium in 2025, more palladium than any other company, according to Johnson Matthey's PGM Market Report of May 2026. Its refiners lost London Platinum and Palladium Market Good Delivery status in April 2022, and most of its platinum now moves to Chinese buyers. This page covers Nornickel's ownership, mines, 2025 output and market access.
What Is Nornickel?#
Nornickel is Mining and Metallurgical Company Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel), a Russian company listed on the Moscow Exchange, and reported 2.73 million ounces of palladium and 667,000 ounces of platinum for 2025 (Johnson Matthey PGM Market Report, May 2026). It is the world's largest primary producer of palladium (Pd, atomic number 46, CAS 7440-05-3) and of high-grade nickel, one of the producers behind the wider platinum group metals market, operating across Norilsk (Talnakh, Skalisty, South Cluster), Kola and Trans-Baikal.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Legal name | Mining and Metallurgical Company Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) |
| Listing | Moscow Exchange (MOEX) |
| Palladium output, 2025 | 2.73 Moz (-1% year on year) |
| Platinum output, 2025 | 667 koz (unchanged year on year) |
| Nickel output, 2025 | 198,521 t (-3% year on year) |
| Operating divisions | Norilsk, Kola, Trans-Baikal |
| LPPM Good Delivery status | Withdrawn from its Russian refiners, 8 April 2022 |
Ownership and Corporate Structure#
Nornickel is publicly listed on the Moscow Exchange with no single shareholder holding a controlling stake confirmed in the facts ledger. Its own reporting names three operating divisions, Norilsk, Kola and Trans-Baikal, without a division-level output breakdown in the sources reviewed here. Nornickel is not a subsidiary of another PGM producer and holds no LPPM Good Delivery accreditation, a status covered under Sanctions and Market Access below.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Ownership | Publicly listed; no single shareholder holding a controlling stake confirmed in the facts ledger |
| Corporate structure | Three operating divisions: Norilsk, Kola, Trans-Baikal |
| Parent or subsidiary status | Independent; not a subsidiary of another PGM producer |
Nornickel's PGM Output by Mine and Metal#
Nornickel reported 2.73 million ounces of palladium for 2025, down 1% on 2024, alongside 667,000 ounces of platinum, unchanged from 2024 (Johnson Matthey PGM Market Report, May 2026). Johnson Matthey tracks the two metals separately; Nornickel publishes no combined PGM basket total. Its 2026 guidance points lower: a 10% to 11% fall in palladium, to 2.42 million to 2.47 million ounces, the lowest total since at least 2005, and a 5% to 8% fall in platinum, which Nornickel attributes to a temporary shift toward lower-grade disseminated ore at Norilsk-Talnakh.
| Metal | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palladium | approximately 2.75 Moz | 2.73 Moz (-1%) | 2.42-2.47 Moz (-10% to -11%) |
| Platinum | approximately 667 koz | 667 koz (unchanged) | down 5% to 8% |
| Nickel (not a PGM) | approximately 204 kt | 198,521 t (-3%) | broadly in line with 2025 |
Source: Johnson Matthey PGM Market Report, May 2026 (pp.10, 19-20), citing Nornickel guidance; nickel figures via Reuters and Mining.com.
Mines and Operations#
Nornickel operates three named divisions across the Russian Arctic and Siberia: Norilsk, Kola and Trans-Baikal. Norilsk holds the richest ore, running the underground Talnakh complex and the Skalisty mine alongside the newer South Cluster open pit, on nickel-copper-PGM sulphide ore whose average grade has fallen steadily for two decades even as higher ore throughput has sustained output (Johnson Matthey PGM Market Report, May 2026). Growth beyond 2026 depends on three named projects:
- The Talnakh concentrator expansion.
- The deepening of the Skalisty underground mine.
- Completion of the South Cluster open-cast project.
| Division | Location | Type | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norilsk (Talnakh, Skalisty, South Cluster) | Taymyr Peninsula, Siberia | Underground (Talnakh, Skalisty) and open pit (South Cluster) | Primary nickel-copper-PGM sulphide ore source |
| Kola | Kola Peninsula | Mining and processing | Hosts the Monchegorsk precious-metals processing workshop |
| Trans-Baikal | Trans-Baikal region, Siberia | Mining | Named operating division |
Sanctions and Market Access#
Since 8 April 2022, Nornickel's platinum has carried no LPPM Good Delivery accreditation, after the London Platinum and Palladium Market suspended the government-owned Russian refiners Krastsvetmet and Prioksky over the invasion of Ukraine. Since 2024, virtually all Russian platinum has moved to China, mainly through Hong Kong (Johnson Matthey PGM Market Report, May 2026). Palladium buyers have narrowed more slowly: the UK, Germany, South Korea and Japan have cut or stopped purchases over the last four years, and US imports ceased in August 2025 after an anti-dumping and countervailing-duty case. Johnson Matthey calls Nornickel now "significantly more dependent upon trade with China" for palladium.
PGM Refining and Accreditation#
Nornickel's PGM-bearing concentrate is refined domestically by third-party Krastsvetmet (the Gulidov Krasnoyarsk Non-Ferrous Metals Plant), not by an in-house or LPPM-accredited operation. Krastsvetmet lost its own LPPM Good Delivery and Sponge Accreditation status in the April 2022 suspension above, so bars and sponge it made after that date no longer qualify as Good Delivery metal. No Russian refiner currently appears on either LPPM list.
Co-Product Economics#
Nickel is Nornickel's other primary metal, and the company remains the world's largest producer of high-grade nickel. Nornickel produced 198,521 tonnes of nickel in 2025, down 3% on 2024, guiding 2026 output broadly in line with 2025 (Reuters and Mining.com, via Johnson Matthey PGM Market Report, May 2026). A revenue share for nickel against palladium and platinum is not established in the sources reviewed here.
Recent Corporate Events#
In July 2026, Nornickel shifted processing of copper sludge calcine cake from Norilsk to Monchegorsk in the Kola division, concentrating precious-metals extraction with upgraded workshop technology (www1.ru, 19 July 2026). The move targets higher palladium, platinum and gold extraction from that material, not a change in mined ore output.
Where Nornickel Fits in the PGM Market#
On company-reported 2025 production, Nornickel ranks third among PGM producers, behind Impala Platinum's 3,553,300 ounces on a 6E basis and Valterra Platinum's 3,412,000 refined ounces on a 5E+Au basis, with its palladium and platinum counted separately. The comparison is illustrative only: each company uses a different metal-content convention, so the figures cannot be summed into a single ranking. This page draws no conclusion about whether Nornickel shares are worth buying, holding or selling.
Where Nornickel Mines#
Nornickel's Talnakh and Skalisty mines both work a single Siberian nickel-copper-PGM deposit rather than separate ore bodies. The Norilsk-Talnakh deposit's geology and ore grades are covered on its own page rather than restated here.
Other PGM Producers#
DailyPlatinum covers other PGM producers with contrasting ownership and accreditation for comparison with Nornickel, listed below.
- Valterra Platinum: LPPM Good Delivery-accredited through Rustenburg Platinum Mines, formed by the 2025 demerger from Anglo American.
- Sibanye-Stillwater: LPPM Good Delivery-accredited through Western Platinum, with South African and US operations.
- Zimplats: 87% owned by Impala Platinum and still independently reported, mining Zimbabwe's Great Dyke.
Frequently Asked Questions About Nornickel#
Who owns Nornickel? Nornickel is publicly listed on the Moscow Exchange, and no single shareholder holding a controlling stake is confirmed in the facts ledger used for this page.
Is Nornickel sanctioned? Nornickel carries no blanket sanction on platinum-group-metal trade, but its Russian refiners lost LPPM Good Delivery accreditation on 8 April 2022, and most of its platinum has moved to Chinese buyers since 2024.
What is the controversy surrounding Nornickel? The most-cited PGM-market issue is market access: buyers of Nornickel's palladium in the UK, Germany, South Korea and Japan have cut or stopped purchases since 2022, and its platinum sales have concentrated on China.