OJSC Norilsk Nickel reported copper production results for the first quarter of 2015. For the quarter, the company produced 89,563 tonnes of copper compared to 89,833 tonnes for the same period last year. This was mainly driven by the ongoing reconfiguration of production facilities at Polar division as well as the decrease of low-margin tolling processing of third party material at Kola MMC.

The company provided copper production guidance for the year 2015, 2016 and 2018. Earlier Norilsk Nickel is expecting copper production this year of 360,000-368,000 tonnes.

The company may increase the production of copper at Russian sites in 2016 to 360,000-375,000 tonnes.

The company is also forecasting that copper production by 2018 may rise to 420,000-445,000 tonnes with the commissioning of the Bystrinskoye gold and copper field. Otherwise, the
production of this metal will be 380,000-400,000 tonnes.