On December 8, 2025, Norilsk Nickel, a Russian mining and metals giant, officially announced a major update: after three years of intensive reconstruction, its cobalt production facilities in the Murmansk region have fully resumed operations, with annual capacity increasing by 20% compared with pre-disaster levels to reach 3,000 tons of metallic cobalt. As the sole cobalt producer in Russia, Norilsk Nickel’s restart and capacity upgrade not only mark the company’s complete recovery from the 2022 fire accident, but also inject crucial stability into the global cobalt supply chain, exerting far-reaching impacts on multiple high-end industries relying on cobalt, such as alloy materials and new energy batteries.
As a strategically critical mineral globally, cobalt supports core areas of high-end manufacturing. It serves as a key alloying element widely used to enhance the performance of metallic materials like aerospace alloys and cemented carbides, and its high energy density makes it a core raw material for new energy vehicle power batteries and energy storage systems. Against the backdrop of explosive growth in the global new energy industry and rising demand for high-performance alloys in advanced manufacturing, Norilsk Nickel’s capacity release is undoubtedly a significant positive development for the tight global cobalt market.
Norilsk Nickel’s cobalt production facilities in the Murmansk region were severely damaged by a major fire in September 2022, bringing core production systems to a complete standstill. Prior to the fire, the plant had an annual capacity of 2,500 tons of metallic cobalt, making it Russia’s only core base for large-scale cobalt production. Its shutdown directly created a regional gap in the global cobalt supply system.
Following the fire, Norilsk Nickel promptly launched an emergency repair and reconstruction plan. During the interim period, the company could only maintain limited output of 1,000 tons of cobalt concentrate per year through partial temporary facilities, far from meeting market demand. After three years of technological breakthroughs and large-scale investment, the company not only fully repaired the damaged production lines, but also upgraded production equipment with the following key measures:
- Adopting more advanced smelting and purification processes to improve cobalt product purity and recovery rates while reducing unit production costs;
- Optimizing the automated production process control system to enhance production efficiency and stability, and minimize human operational risks;
- Strengthening environmental protection treatment facilities to strictly control pollutant emissions during production, aligning with the company’s sustainable development goal of "Strategy 2030: Toward a Greener World".
Ultimately, the reconstructed plant achieved an annual capacity of 3,000 tons of metallic cobalt, representing a 20% increase from the pre-disaster level of 2,500 tons, successfully meeting the strategic goal of "resuming production with simultaneous upgrades".
As a leading enterprise in Russia’s mining sector, Norilsk Nickel operates across the entire industrial chain, covering mineral exploration, mining, processing, and sales of non-ferrous metals and precious metals. Its products are sold to over 400 enterprises in 28 countries worldwide. The company is also the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel, as well as a major supplier of platinum and copper. The full restart of its cobalt production facilities holds significant importance for Russia’s mineral resource strategy:
On one hand, it ensures the security and independence of Russia’s domestic cobalt supply chain. Amid intensifying global competition for critical minerals, Norilsk Nickel, as Russia’s only cobalt producer, has restored capacity to free the country from reliance on overseas cobalt resources, providing stable raw material guarantees for key domestic sectors such as aerospace, national defense industry, and new energy industry.
On the other hand, it strengthens Russia’s voice in the global critical mineral supply chain. As a core supporting material for the new energy revolution and high-end manufacturing upgrading, cobalt has become a key mineral for strategic reserves in various countries. With an annual capacity of 3,000 tons, Norilsk Nickel secures an important position in the global cobalt supply landscape, further enhancing Russia’s bargaining power and influence in global mineral resource allocation.
From the perspective of the global cobalt market structure, Norilsk Nickel’s capacity release comes at a critical juncture. According to industry reports, the global cobalt market supply-demand gap is expected to narrow to 3,000 tons in 2025. The power battery sector contributes over 75% of the demand growth, with global electric vehicle sales exceeding 18 million units in 2025, fully offsetting the impact of reduced unit cobalt consumption driven by high-nickel low-cobalt battery technology routes. Rigid demand for cobalt resources remains robust.
Meanwhile, the global cobalt supply side still faces multiple constraints: Indonesia, a major global cobalt-producing region with a 28% capacity share, is experiencing declining project profitability due to rising environmental governance costs; logistics bottlenecks persist in African regions, leading to a gradual reduction in the proportion of artisanal cobalt supply; although recycled cobalt supply has achieved leapfrog growth, its share in 2025 is only 16%, which is insufficient to fully compensate for the primary cobalt supply gap. Against this backdrop, Norilsk Nickel’s additional annual cobalt capacity of 3,000 tons will precisely ease the tight supply situation in the global cobalt market, effectively stabilizing cobalt price fluctuations and supporting global supply chain stability.
In addition, Norilsk Nickel’s cobalt products will further enrich the regional diversity of global cobalt supply. Current global cobalt trade flows exhibit distinct regional characteristics, with major consumer markets such as China, Europe, and the United States placing increasing emphasis on supply chain regional balance and ESG compliance. The restoration of Norilsk Nickel’s capacity will provide new supply options for customers in Europe, Asia and other regions, reducing the risks of single-source supply and optimizing the global cobalt supply chain layout.
Cobalt’s unique physical and chemical properties make it a key link connecting the two core industries of metallic materials and new energy. Norilsk Nickel’s capacity increase will have positive radiation effects across multiple sectors:
In the alloy materials field, cobalt acts as an important alloying element that significantly enhances the strength, hardness, wear resistance and high-temperature resistance of metallic materials. Its application in products such as aerospace alloys, cemented carbides and high-speed steels directly determines the performance ceiling of high-end equipment. The stable supply of cobalt from Norilsk Nickel will provide sufficient raw material guarantees for the global machinery manufacturing, aerospace and precision instrument industries, facilitating product upgrading and technological innovation in related sectors.
In the new energy sector, cobalt is a core component of cathode materials for ternary lithium batteries, directly affecting battery energy density and cycle life. Despite the accelerating commercialization of solid-state batteries, they still require a certain amount of cobalt as a supporting component, and are expected to account for 15% of the high-end vehicle market share by 2030. Norilsk Nickel’s cobalt supply will provide stable raw material support for global new energy vehicle manufacturers and energy storage equipment enterprises, alleviating industry concerns about insufficient cobalt supply and driving the sustainable and healthy development of the new energy industry.
Looking ahead, Norilsk Nickel will continue to advance green and efficient upgrading in cobalt production under the guidance of "Strategy 2030". The company plans to allocate approximately 4 billion US dollars in capital expenditure to upgrade energy assets, aiming to renovate 60% of energy infrastructure by 2030 and maintain greenhouse gas emissions per ton of nickel equivalent among the bottom quartile globally. Meanwhile, as global cobalt demand is projected to reach 380,000 tons by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate of 8.5%, Norilsk Nickel is expected to further optimize capacity layout and tap production potential, providing more stable supply for the global cobalt market.
The restart and upgrade of Murmansk’s cobalt production facilities is not only a crucial milestone in Norilsk Nickel’s own development, but also a significant event in the restructuring of the global critical mineral supply chain. In the future, relying on advanced production technology, comprehensive industrial chain layout and a firm commitment to green development, Norilsk Nickel will continue to provide high-quality cobalt products for the global alloy materials and new energy industries, injecting strong impetus into global industrial transformation and sustainable development.
