Prodded by rising copper prices and demand, Freeport and others have developed new ways to extract the red metal from piles of waste rock stored at mine sites.
The agreement to back the plant being developed by startup Green Lithium brings the world’s top independent commodities trader into a market struggling to create new supply.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit against Vale related to the Brumadinho tailings dam failure three years ago is a reminder that the total consequences for the catastrophe are still being tallied.
The approval has been needed since President Vladimir Putin April signed a bill requiring Russian companies to delist their depositary receipts abroad.