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[Frank Pembleton]

Norilsk To Try Avoid Palladium Sale On Spot Market In '02-03
10:15 EST Wednesday, Oct 16, 2002

MOSCOW -(Dow Jones)- Russian metals giant Norilsk Nickel Metals and Mining ( R.GMK) will not sell any palladium on the spot market in 2002 and will try to avoid it in 2003, Maxim Finsky, deputy chairman of the board, said Wednesday.

"We will leave some small volume of palladium for the spot market in 2003, but will use it uniquely if we need to stabilize the market," Finsky said.

He said Norilsk prefers long-term contracts and has already drawn up contracts which almost exhausted the palladium quota for 2003.

Norilsk last week reached a multiyear agreement with General Motors Corp. (GM) to sell platinum, palladium and rhodium.

"We have a number of contracts like this with other (automobile) companies, but we have agreed not to make them public," Finsky said.

Commenting on the loan backed by nickel exports in August, Finsky said that the company does not plan to attract any loans backed by other metals.

"We have worked out a mechanism to issue bonds, backed by metals' revenues, and can issue them when we consider necessary but not in the next year," Finsky said.

Finsky welcomes the government drafting legislation on making the platinum group metals more transparent.

"The information will give the market a chance to evaluate the capitalization of our company, as Norilsk is greatly undervalued," he said.

Company Web site: http://www.nornik.ru

-By Anna Ivanova-Galitsina, Dow Jones Newswires; 7095-974-8055; [e-mail] (This story was originally published by Dow Jones Newswires) Copyright (c) 2002 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved