Norilsk Nickel Reopens S Africa Nkomati Ore Concentrator

LONDON, Nov. 10 -- Russia's OAO Norilsk Nickel (GMKN.RS), the world's largest nickel producer by volume, said Tuesday it has reopened an ore concentrator at its Nkomati mine in South Africa.

The ore concentrator was shut down in July as part of a plan to boost the facility's processing capacity by 100,000 metric tons a month to 250,000 tons a month.

Norilsk said the construction was completed ahead of schedule, and the mine's two ore concentrators are now able to process 7.5 million tons of ore annually.

The Nkomati mine is forecast to produce 12,300 tons of nickel concentrate and 6,400 tons of copper concentrate in 2010.