The Moscow Times reported that Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest nickel producer, plans to sell its foreign assets and double its spending on resource exploration in Russia in the face of weak metal prices.

Mr Vladimir Potanin CEO of Norilsk Nickel said that “The move signals changes in Norilsk Nickel's strategy to focus only on large scale, profitable Tier 1 operations, with margins of more than 40% and revenue of more than USD 1 billion.”

Mr Potanin said that "I think that we are going to face relatively strong headwinds in the nickel industry for maybe a couple of years. Our position is simple: If you take the cost curve, we are the last ones to shut down our plants. We just need to wait until inefficient production is shut down."

The price of nickel has plunged more than 20 percent this year, and is currently trading on the LME at just under USD 14,000 per tonne. The company plans to sell its Australian, African and South African assets and bring in foreign specialists to make its domestic operations more efficient.

Mr Potanin said that "Maybe, in order to work faster, I will invite Rio Tinto or BHP Billiton to make new projects, together sharing risks, financial risks, execution. While foreign companies are welcome to share the risks, they will not be let anywhere near decision making control over this process belongs to the Russians.”