Nornickel, which according to its annual report produced 425,400 tonnes of refined copper last year, processed all of its concentrates in 2023 at the Arctic plant, its only operation producing finished copper suitable for delivery to exchanges. Its relocation plan came shortly after the London Metal Exchange, the world's largest and oldest metals forum, announced new restrictions on its product sales in April. Nornickel and its metal are not under U.S. or European sanctions, but many western consumers will no longer buy metal of Russian origin since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Much of the company's metal had been stored on the LME, with more than 40% of LME-stored copper inventory produced in Russia as of the end of May, data showed. Under new rules, LME storage is no longer available for Russian copper produced after April 13.