ZHODINO (Belarus), September 7. /TASS/. Nornickel President Vladimir Potanin and BELAZ General Director Sergey Lesin have signed an agreement to set up a joint venture, a TASS correspondent reported from the signing ceremony at the BELAZ plant in Belarus.
"The companies are ramping up cooperation on the joint development of underground mining equipment, with the first units of machinery already undergoing trials at Norilsk mines. Today, Nornickel and BELAZ are working to deploy breakthrough pilot solutions, expand their equipment lineup, and match the world's top standards. This partnership has culminated in a cooperation agreement to pool efforts in R&D to create next-generation mining machinery, implement unmanned mining technologies, and introduce other innovations," Nornickel's press service said.
The agreement outlines plans to form a joint venture to execute these projects, alongside establishing a full-service repair and maintenance hub for underground mining equipment.
