Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow should discuss limiting exports of uranium, titanium and nickel in retaliation for Western sanctions.
Putin’s statements to his government ministers led to a rise in nickel prices and boosted the share prices of uranium miners.
In televised statements, he said that such restrictions could also be introduced for other raw materials and stressed that Russia is a major producer of natural gas, diamonds and gold.
However, he said that these measures should not be taken “tomorrow” and that they cannot cause harm to Russia itself.
“Russia is a leader in several strategic raw materials: in natural gas it has 22 percent of world reserves, in gold almost 23 percent, in diamonds almost 55 percent,” Putin said.
“Let’s look at some types of goods that we supply to the world market and maybe we should think about some restrictions: uranium, titanium, nickel,” he told Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
“We can’t do anything that will harm us,” he added.
Western countries have slashed purchases of Russian oil and gas since the war in Ukraine began, but Russia remains a major supplier of the metal to the global market, so a reduction in sales or a blockade could cause problems, analysts say.
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 2.6% to $16,145 a tonne after Putin’s comments.
Russia is home to Nornickel, the world’s leading producer of refined nickel. It is a major supplier of nickel to China and Europe. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
More than a fifth of nickel in LME-registered deposits is of Russian origin, according to data released Tuesday. The metal is used in batteries and alloys with applications including shielding coatings and turbine blades.
Uranium miners’ stocks jumped on the news. Russia is the world’s fourth-largest uranium producer and has about 44% of the world’s uranium enrichment capacity.
In 2023, the United States and China dominated the list of Russian uranium importers, followed by South Korea, France, Kazakhstan, and Germany.
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
