The share prices of London-listed miners with exposure to Russia and Ukraine slumped on Thursday, as tension between the countries escalated with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces launching a major military assault on Ukraine.
Precious metals miner Polymetal’s stock fell 45%, as the company warned that the invasion had led to a “material increase in possibility” of additional and more severe sanctions being imposed by the West on Russia.
“The scope and impact of these new potential sanctions (and any potential counter-sanctions) is yet unknown; however they might affect key Russian financial institutions, as well as mining companies,” Polymetal said.
The company added that it was unlikely that it would be subject to targeted sanctions.
While its operations in Russia and Kazakhstan continued to operate, Polymetal had initiated contingency planning to ensure business continuity, including selection of key equipment suppliers, liquidity management, debt portfolio diversification and securing sales channels.
The share price of gold producer Petropavlovsk’s share price fell 30%.
Swiss-headquartered Ferrexpo, which is listed on the LSE, said in a statement on Thursday morning that its mining and processing facilities continue to operate, but that the government had suspended rail transportation. The company’s iron-ore operations are located adjacent to the city of Horishni Plavni, in central Ukraine.
Ferrexpo said that it was closely monitoring developments and stressed that it would prioritise the safety of its work force.
The share price of integrated steel and vanadium group Evraz fell 31%.
www.ferroalloynet.com
