The new alumina refinery is expected to have a capacity of 1 million tons a year and be built in the region of Boke.

Pakistani Prime Minister visited Beijing in a bid to upgrade cooperation under the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a key part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative.

According to the report, the total value of the country's mineral and metal production has quadrupled since 2000. 

At the end of May, Codelco wrapped up negotiations with two other unions at the mine.

The trades are part of a broader deluge of investment into the copper market, with the value of long positions held by fund managers in London and New York futures tripling this year.

Treaty Creek, in the Golden Triangle region of northwest British Columbia, is a joint venture project with Tudor Gold and Teuton Resources.