01:32 09-12-2025

Inside Glubokaya: Norilsk’s 1,989 m nickel-copper mine

Generated by DALL·E

Explore the Glubokaya mine near Norilsk: a 1,989 m shaft extracting nickel, copper, cobalt and palladium for EV batteries and industry at extreme depth.

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building on the planet, tops out at 828 meters. Russia’s Glubokaya mine goes nearly three times farther—but in the opposite direction. Around two kilometers beneath the surface, crews extract metals without which modern industry and digital technology simply don’t run.

A shaft to rival three skyscrapers

Glubokaya is part of the Skalisty mine in the south of the Taimyr Peninsula, not far from Norilsk. Its depth now reaches 1,989 meters. Workers travel to those levels in a special hoist cage; the ride takes about ten minutes, a reminder of the sheer vertical scale involved. Cargo moves in a separate cage almost as tall as a five-story building, built to ferry equipment and large components that cannot be handled any other way.

At such depths, rock temperatures climb to 50 degrees Celsius. Yet that is precisely where the path had to lead to unlock access to valuable resources.

What exactly is mined near Norilsk

Geologists note that the local ore contains more than fifty elements from the periodic table, about fourteen of them in industrially significant quantities. The primary targets are copper, nickel, cobalt, and palladium—metals that underpin contemporary manufacturing.

Copper finds its way into virtually every device, from smartphones to household appliances. Nickel is used in speakers, vibration motors, microphones, and in alloys where strength and heat resistance are critical. Cobalt is a key component of lithium-ion batteries powering phones, laptops, and electric vehicles.

These metals often occur together in a single ore, and separating them demands complex processing. Miners long ago gave nickel a prankster’s reputation: it was frequently mistaken for copper, with old legends chalking that up to the mischief of gnomes.

Why these metals matter

Nickel and its alloys tolerate high temperatures and remain ductile in severe cold. Thanks to its magnetic properties, the metal is used across industry and in medicine. Cobalt, nickel, and copper are widely known as battery metals. Building one electric car takes about 80 kilograms of copper, 16 kilograms of cobalt, and 32 kilograms of nickel. As the electric-vehicle market expands, their role only grows.

Mining at extreme depth is just ahead

Glubokaya is entering the final stage of construction. Once commissioned, it will become one of the country’s key sites for extracting strategic raw materials. Samples of ore and metals brought up from the deep horizons are already on display at the Mining Museum in St. Petersburg.