Russia is in talks with other BRICS members about creating an international precious metals exchange to ensure fair pricing and trade growth, the country’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in a statement.

“The mechanism will include the creation of price indicators for metals, standards for the production and trade of bullion, and instruments for accrediting market participants, clearing, and auditing within BRICS,” Siluanov said.

The BRICS precious metals exchange would rival Western trading platforms, such as the London Metal Exchange, and would protect trade from sanctions imposed by the West on BRICS members Russia and Iran.

Earlier, BRICS leaders expressed support for efforts to increase trade in precious metals among the group’s countries in a joint communique issued on Oct. 23.

Russia is the second-largest global gold producer, and one of its biggest companies, Nornickel, is the world’s largest supplier of palladium, with a 40% share of global output.

All major Russian gold producers are under Western sanctions, which have also hampered Nornickel’s operations and its palladium exports, although the company itself is not under direct sanctions.

Reuters