Finland (Norilsk Nickel Harjavalta)

Harjavalta processes the Company’s Russian feedstock and nickel-containing raw materials sourced from third-party suppliers.

Norilsk Nickel Harjavalta has a total nickel processing capacity of 66 ktpa. The plant uses sulphuric acid leaching, the best-in-industry solution for nickel semi-products with the metal recovery rates of over 98%.

Norilsk Nickel Harjavalta’s commercial products include nickel cathodes, briquettes and salts, and cobalt sulphates. The plant also manufactures semi-products, including PGM-bearing copper cake and cobalt solution for further processing by third parties.

Production flowchart of Norilsk Nickel Harjavalta

From 2H 2016, the refining facilities in Monchegorsk have been gradually increasing their nickel feedstock supplies in line with the Group’s nickel production reconfiguration strategy. Feedstock supplies from third parties continued unabated and included converter matte from BHP (Australia), matte and converter matte from Boliden Harjavalta (Finland), converter matte from BCL (Botswana), and nickel sulphide concentrate from Terrafame (Finland).

In 2016, Norilsk Nickel Harjavalta produced 53.7 kt of seleable nickel, up 23% y-o-y, owing to reconfiguration of the Company’s refining facilities and, consequently, larger nickel feedstock supplies from Kola MMC.

The third party sales of copper in copper cake totalled 9.6 kt, down 26% y-o-y. This was mainly due to the increased supplies to Kola MMC.


Nickel and copper recovery rates improved on the back of a decrease in losses of nickel and copper with ferrous cakes.

Metals recovery in smelting, %
Metal 2014 2015 2016
Nickel 97.1 97.8 98.3
Copper 99.3 99.6 99.7
Palladium 99.3 99.6 99.4
Platinum 99.3 99.6 99.4
Utilisation of refining capacities, % of max
Seleable nickel produced by NN Harjavalta, % Source: Company data
Metals production by Norilsk Nickel Harjavalta
Metal 2014 2015 2016
Seleable nickel, t 42,603 43,479 53,654
including the Company's Russian feedstock 0 424 19,012
Copper in copper cake, t 10,629 13,048 9,598
including the Company's Russian feedstock 0 0 593
Palladium in copper cake, koz 71 78 64
including the Company's Russian feedstock 0 0 8
Platinum in copper cake, koz 31 33 22
including the Company's Russian feedstock 0 0 2