The request was made when Indonesian President Joko Widodo met with US Vice President Kamala Harris this week.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman is prepared to pour billions of dollars into tapping the more than $1.3 trillion of metals his government says is buried in the country.

Vale is exploring a copper mine, comparable to massive Grasberg site.

"Chile's new mining royalty law will not materially weaken the competitiveness of the country's copper mining sector, but it will increase taxes, modestly pressuring miners' cash flows," Fitch said.

The industry committee of the European Parliament will vote on its position on Thursday on the Critical Raw Materials Act.

The company intends to develop a high-margin, long-life, large-scale and low-carbon mine. It will produce a 60% nickel concentrate for direct feed into the stainless steel industry.

The study estimates an after-tax net present value of $1.3 billion with an after-tax internal rate of return of 23%.

The decision is a blow to the Solwara 1 project in Papua New Guinea, once poised to be one of the world's first deep sea mining projects.