Moscow - PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel” the world’s largest refined nickel and palladium producer, announces that on July 7, at approximately 10 am, an explosion occurred at a shaft of Zapolyarny Mine of the Polar Division of Nornickel. The accident occurred during drifting activities carried out by a team from Polar Construction Company, a contractor of Nornickel. Four Polar Construction Company employees have been confirmed dead as a result of the explosion and there have been a number of others injured. All other miners working at the site have now been evacuated to the surface and all personnel have been accounted for. Emergency services including medics and mine rescue teams have been deployed to the site. Preliminary reports on the cause of the incident point to a build-up of methane, which ignited in the shaft. Sergey Gradyushko, the deputy director on health and safety of the Polar Division, said: “Following this tragic accident our thoughts are with the families of our colleagues who have died and those injured. The company will provide all support we can offer to them. In the meantime our priority is on safe evacuation of other workers who were on site. This is a serious situation, but one for which the company has a prepared response plan which is now underway”. Once this has been done we will then turn our attention to looking in more detail at what happened and drawing any appropriate lessons from it. Supplies to Nornickel customers will not be affected by suspension of work at this mine. 

• [Editor:tianmichai]