Unfortunately a Russian invasion with lead to financial market uncertainty, oil & gas price spiking, possible sanctions against Russia (note: Russia exports 49% of the world's nickel and 13% of the Platinum), increasing inflationary pressures and supply chain disruptions. These could be emerging strategic drivers to get Sunrise Project funding over the line as future customers realise the benefits of dealing with Australia.

How Russia's Ukraine conflict could reshape economics and markets even if it doesn't end in war

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-29/ukraine-crisis-economic-and-market-fallout/100786018

By business reporter Michael Janda, 29th Jan 2022

He predicted that the current Ukraine crisis would accelerate some of the global trends already underway, many of which had been sparked by the COVID crisis and China's increasingly aggressive foreign and trade policy:

• From long supply chains to shorter ones
• From free trade to onshoring — as in semiconductors — increasingly tied to the defence sector
• To tighter controls on technology exports
• To more calls for decoupling from Russia and China so US capital does not pay for China's military (as EU capital does via Russian oil and gas)
• Towards rapid rearmament, even if with new platforms
• To demands for access to/control of key raw materials
• To seeing energy as about more than just the green transition (eg, the EU shift to green nuclear power); and
• For central banks to be part of the solution by keeping rates low and acting more (geo)politically

Metals and manufacturing

Manufacturing supply chains also wouldn't be immune from either a conflict or sanctions against Russia.

Russia's share of global nickel exports is estimated to be about 49 per cent, palladium 42 per cent, aluminium 26 per cent, platinum 13 per cent, steel 7 per cent and copper 4 per cent.

Nickel, platinum and aluminium prices were already trending up before the latest threat to key Russian exports.(Supplied: Rabobank)

"Removing half of global nickel exports for kitchenware, mobile phones, medical equipment, transport, buildings, and power; palladium for catalytic converters, electrodes, and electronics; and a quarter of aluminium for vehicles, construction, machinery and packaging would result in huge upside pressure on prices," Rabobank warned.

In some sense, a hostile peace with long-lasting sanctions could be a more threatening prospect for the supply and cost of these commodities than the disruption from a short, sharp war. Of course, both war and sanctions could also occur.