Nornickel said a programme of immediate repairs has been developed for both production lines of the Norilsk Concentrator, which suffered an ore transfer point and adjacent walkway collapse on February 20.

The company will suspend the copper line for an accelerated upgrade to eliminate the risk of any possible incidents, and expects that the processing site will be ready to resume operations after March 15.

"The restoration of the operations of the Norilsk Concentrator lines will only be possible once its new management is fully confident it is completely safe. I have set the goal to achieve full compliance with industrial safety requirements," said Nornickel's president Vladimir Potanin.

The building of an ore reloading facility and the adjoining walkway collapsed during repairs, with three employees of Norilsknickelremont, a contractor conducting repairs at the site, dying as a result of injuries sustained in the accident.

Meanwhile, Nornickel said a board meeting will be held on March 9 to consider the timeline for the full restoration of operations at the Oktyabrsky and Taimyrsky mines, which were closed on February 12 after natural groundwater inflow was detected at the 350-meter depth mark in the mine headwall.

The company admitted that the ongoing suspension will impact on production.

"We can say that this accident will have material consequences, that is, there will be certain production losses, but fortunately it does not impact people and the environment," said Potanin.