LME issues notice on warranting of Russian-origin copper, cobalt in EU

The London Metal Exchange said in a notice on Wednesday that Russian-origin copper and cobalt could only be registered in its listed warehouses in the European Union if evidence could be provided that they were imported to the EU before July 25, 2026.

The exchange said the notice was intended to provide an update to the market on measures it was implementing to comply with an EU Council regulation that amends existing sanctions to prohibit “the purchase, import, or transfer, directly or indirectly, of copper and cobalt into the EU, if they originate in or are exported from Russia.”

The LME noted that no cobalt or copper of Russian origin has been warranted at an LME-listed warehouse in the EU for more than a year, and it does not expect the process introduced in the notice to have significant market impact.

The EU’s 20th package of sanctions against Russia, adopted on April 23, included a ban on imports of Russian metals including nickel bars, iron ores and concentrates, unrefined and processed copper, and various scrap metals including aluminum.

(By Ishaan Arora; Editing by Paul Simao)