Governor Dunleavy sued Biden last week for the president's 2023 decision to block the giant Pebble project. The suit seeks more than $700 billion.

Smelters including Jiangxi Copper and Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group will meet in Shanghai next Thursday, according to Bloomberg.

Last year, Barrick said it intended to search for additional copper deposits in Zambia and the DRC as part of its efforts to expand its presence in the African copper belt.

A senior Indonesian mining ministry official said the country was working to accelerate the approval process.

"We are very strong on nickel fundamentals," chief sustainability and corporate affairs officer Emily Olson told the CERAWeek energy conference.

The country produced over 99.8 million tonnes of coal in the period on the back of rising power demand.

Any increase in cobalt holdings would be aimed at reducing reliance on China, which dominates the processing of the material.