Ukraine crisis briefing

Commodity prices

Concerns over the supply of key commodities such as nickel, palladium, and aluminium led to sharp price increases in March, with nickel prices on the LME briefly topping $100,000 per tonne on 8 March before trading was suspended.

Sales and divestment

// Asterisk (*) denotes the company HQ is in a country imposing economic sanctions on Russia. Companies with HQ in Russia are not included in these charts.

ONGOING SANCTIONS

In April, the EU announced further sanctions against Russia which banned the importing of all forms of Russian coal from midnight on 10 August. This affects one-quarter of all Russian coal exports. While this will impact Russian coal miners in terms of volumes, a steep rise in coal prices this year will help recoup much of the lost profits.

NORNICKEL CONSEQUENCES

Of the leading miners, Nornickel initially stated that operations were continuing and in May confirmed supply of palladium and nickel sales were unaffected with no change to its 2022 guidance. However, while not directly affected by sanctions, it is adjusting its supply routes.

POLYMETAL RESPONSE 

In July, it was reported that Polymetal was considering the sale of its Russian assets to avert the impact of sanctions imposed by Western nations against Russia in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Having closed the transaction, Polymetal would focus primarily on its operations in Kazakhstan.

AUSTRALIAN IMPACTS

Linked to Australia's response to the war, Rio Tinto severed ties with Russian businesses and took sole control over Queensland Alumina, which operate an alumina refinery in Australia, in which Rio owns 80% and Rusal 20%.