Noril’sk rivals Sudbury in output, surpasses in grade and

More than 200 geologists from all over the world gathered in Sudbury, Ont., Oct. 3-5, to compare the world’s two largest nickel mining districts. The Noril’sk region in northern Siberia, Russia, rivals Sudbury in output and surpasses it in grade and tonnage. The Noril’sk deposits contain twice as much nickel, five times as much copper and 10 times as much platinum.

Of the 25 papers presented, 14 were on Noril’sk, eight of which were delivered by the Russian delegates and six by North Americans. The 11 talks on Sudbury were given by exploration geologists for Inco Ltd. and Falconbridge Ltd. After the conference, participants visited the Sudbury Igneous Complex on Oct. 6.

Noril’sk, population 300,000, lies 300 km north of the Arctic Circle and further north than any point reached by Canada’s main land mass. Its residents, like those of Sudbury, depend on the world nickel market for their livelihood.

“The richness of the deposits, and the likelihood that similar ones occur elsewhere in the world, make it important for western geologists to learn about the Noril’sk deposits firsthand,” says conference organizer Anthony Naldrett of the Department of Geology at the University of Toronto, who gave two talks at the symposium. Naldrett contributed to the publication of numerous translated articles on the Noril’sk deposits.

“This is the first opportunity for me, and probably for most geologists, to meet our Russian counterparts firsthand,” says John Blaine, a participant from Falconbridge. “The conference has reinforced my understanding of the Russian deposits as described in the articles whose translation was initiated by Professor Naldrett with the support of Falconbridge and Inco. We may use the same information to locate similar deposits in Canada and elsewhere.” Participants think the conference will strengthen the ties between the two nickel capitals. At the Saturday banquet, the Russian delegation presented a letter to the Sudbury mayor from the Noril’sk mayor, who suggests further scientific and cultural exchanges.

R.D. Martindale, manager of Inco’s Sudbury Basin exploration, describes the meeting as “an unqualified success” and says it “has created a genuine desire for further communication.”

Major mining companies such as Cominco Ltd., Soquem, Westminer Canada, Teck Corp., Falconbridge, Inco, BHP Minerals, and Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting sent their delegates.

The conference, supported by Ontario’s Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, Inco, Falconbridge and the Geological Survey of Canada, was opened by mines minister Shelley Martel. Her ministry will contribute $67,000 toward the publication of the symposium papers by the Ontario Geological Survey.