Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has sanctioned the export of platinum and diamonds from the country once more.

Norilsk Nickel's five-year export quota ran out on December 31st but a renewal had been delayed. Norilsk had stated it did not know of any reason for the delay, insisting that it had carried out its application procedure as normal.

However, it has been confirmed that Mr Putin signed a decree designed to scrap export quotas for the platinum group metal (pgm) and diamond markets. That decree has now come into force, enabling Norilsk to once again export platinum.

However, the changes still require Norilsk to book its exports through Almazyuvelirexport. Deputy General Director, Sergei Gorny, confirmed to Reuters: "All platinum group metals sold abroad, irrespective of where they're produced - and we have several producers, though none as big as Norilsk - are exported through our group by law."

Norilsk has always insisted that the delays would not have a negative impact on its annual overall exports.

Experts believe that the move away from export quotas is linked to the Russian government's continued efforts to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

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