Russia’s MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC plans to cut nickel output and slash production of key battery metal cobalt this year, due to delayed plant repairs and a fire at a refinery. The top refined nickel producer will likely lower output of that metal by 4% to 5% from 2022’s level of 219,000 tons as it conducts maintenance that had been put off from last year as it faced equipment-supply issues, Senior Vice President Sergey Stepanov told reporters from Moscow. Cobalt production will be less than half of what it was before September’s Kola site fire. While the US and UK have sanctioned Nornickel’s top shareholder, Vladimir ... (full story)