The mining and commodities trader giant will provide EVelution with long-term supplies of cobalt hydroxide.

The transaction is required by the government to extend Vale Indonesia's operating permit beyond 2025.

SQM and Australia's richest person Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting, already Azure's two largest shareholders, teamed up in December to buy the lithium developer.

BHP has been working towards making a transition to commodities and away from coal-related assets.

In December, Nippon agreed to buy US Steel for roughly $15 billion but the deal faces an uphill battle to approval amid bipartisan opposition in a US election year.

Teck has agreed to pay Korea Zinc $165 per metric ton, a three-year low, to turn its zinc concentrate into refined metal.

The firm’s primary listing could come into focus due to a lack of shareholder support for a plan to split off its coal business and list it separately in New York.