Associated News, page-24

Russia is, in recent days, making increasing (& absurdly false) claims that Ukraine is preparing to set off a nuclear bomb on Ukrainian territory.
Russia has also been threatening to use small, "tactical" nuclear weapons against Ukraine on the battlefield, where Ukraine is forcing Russian forces to retreat in many areas .Russia has sacked its military commander recently.

https://time.com/6224434/russia-dirty-bomb-ukraine/


Nickel, due to current severe shortages, is one of the very few Russian exports that the EU, UK, USA, Japan etc. have not yet banned- but the LME is now considering it. Russia accounts for 8% of world Ni production, & 15% of world Ni exports

This bloomberg/mining.com article discusses the potential for an imminent ban- & highlights the severe Ni supply problems, if NI bans are implemented (which, IMO, are VERY likely if Russia uses a nuclear bomb in Ukraine, & bans not just by the LME. The only "beneficiaries" would be Ni explorers & producers, inc. NCM precursor suppliers).

"Any move by the LME would also have ramifications beyond the warehouse flows. For example, some contracts between producers, traders and consumers stipulate that the metal should be “LME deliverable,” meaning that a ban by the LME could lead to contracts being broken.

Banks often insist that the metal they finance should be LME deliverable, because they want to be sure that, in the event of any problems, it could be sold easily on the exchange. And many traders rely on the fact that metal can be delivered to the LME when they use LME contracts to hedge their physical inventories — should they choose to, they can close the hedge by simply delivering metal.

As a result, any move by the LME could create headaches for Rusal and Nornickel, as well as their biggest customers...

There’s already an expectation at the companies that the consultation process launched by the LME will make it MORE DIFFICULT for customers of Rusal and Nornickel to fund working capital using the metal as collateral, according to people familiar with the matter.

The simple fact of the discussion is likely to cause Nornickel’s sales to Europe to drop SIGNIFICANTLY (all my emphases), given that it creates uncertainty at a crucial time of the year for sales negotiations, one of the people said".

https://www.mining.com/web/how-a-ban-on-russias-mining-giants-could-shake-the-metals-world/