But rising gold imports could widen India's trade deficit and further pressure its currency, the rupee, which hit a record low of 71.95 against the dollar on Wednesday.
A vote by the striking workers on whether to accept a new workplace agreement is due to close on Thursday, with the union anticipating a strong "no" vote.
With total reserves of around 26.7 million tonnes of copper, Udokan is the largest undeveloped copper deposit in Russia and one of the biggest in the world.
Now, some warehouse firms are pushing the idea of replacing all rules with one that obliges warehouses to load out 1.5 percent of total stocks per day.
