MOSCOW, June 4 (RAPSI, Sergei Feklyunin) - The Krasnoyarsk Territorial Commercial Court has suspended the proceedings regarding the 3.9 billion ruble ($121.7 million) lawsuit that the Federal Agency for State Reserves filed against Norilsk Nickel until an expert appraisal has been held, court spokesperson Anastasia Chekha told RAPSI on Tuesday.

The regulator seeks compensation from the miner for the shortfall of copper-containing stock stored at the company.

The hearing has been postponed until Aug. 18. The case is being considered behind closed doors. The lawsuit was filed on Nov. 28, 2012.

Kommersant daily earlier reported that Vladimir Potanin, the general director and co-owner of Norilsk Nickel, wrote a letter to President Vladimir Putin on Jan. 23 asking to order the regulator to conduct a reassessment of the quality and the volume of the copper-containing stock in question.

According to Potanin, the previous assessment commissioned by the State Reserves Agency was conducted in 2012 by the National Geology Research Institute, which is involved in the proceedings as a third party.

According to Norilsk Nickel, last year's assessment did not provide reliable measurements of the quality or the volume of the stock due to the use of improper methodology and incorrect input data. Putin ordered First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov to study the issue and to appoint a reassessment if necessary.

Norilsk Nickel is the world's largest nickel producer (18 percent of worldwide output) and palladium producer (nearly 50 percent of worldwide output). It is also a leading platinum producer (around 13 percent of worldwide output) and copper producer (2.5 percent of worldwide output). The company also produces cobalt, chrome, rhodium, silver, iridium, ruthenium, selenium, tellurium and sulfur.