Russia’s miners seek new ways to sell $20b annual gold output

Russia’s miners seek new ways to sell $20b annual gold output

The new sanctions move will further impact the Kremlin’s ability to launder money, and in effect will apply secondary sanctions on people who trade in gold with Russia

The US and its bloc fear that apart from swapping the gold for a more liquid foreign exchange that is not subject to current sanctions, Russia could sell the bullion through gold markets and dealers. The gold could also be used to directly purchase goods and services from willing sellers. — File photo

Published: Sun 3 Apr 2022, 5:16 PM

Russia’s huge gold industry is searching for new ways to sell its metal, including direct exports to China, India and the Middle East, as sanctions choke off its traditional sales routes, precious metal analysts said.

According to people familiar with the matter, the direct export strategy being pondered by Russian miners, who desperately seek to sell the roughly 340 tonnes worth about $20 billion they produce each year, comes in the wake of the latest sanctions move by the US and its G7 partners to bar all transactions with the Russian central bank’s gold reserves, valued at roughly $130 billion.

The new restrictions by the West will close off all avenues for Russia, the second biggest gold