Western Australia has been redrafting its 50-year-old heritage laws which give the state Aboriginal Affairs minister the ultimate say in whether miners can destroy heritage sites.

The nickel and cobalt markets are facing similar supply deficits over the next few decades, Glasenberg says.

Lundin Mining and Hudbay Minerals as well as South32 are likely to show an interest, a source told Reuters.

The major is also looking to collect a portion of the $52 million it has already spent at the project.

The metal plays a key role in the global transition to clean energy and demand from the EV sector alone is expected to grow by 2.6Mt to 2040.

The open pit contains known fault zones, and the mining plan calls for production to shift below the danger zones.

Heavily indebted Tianqi is pocketing a much-needed $1.4 billion from the sale.