Chinese copper imports rise for first time in three months

"While a large number of countries around the world continue to talk about securing raw material supply, China is actually doing something about it."

"Winter restocking of iron ore among steel mills is still underway, so we believe ore prices will find some support in the near term," analyst says.

El Salvador became the first country in the world to ban all forms of metals mining in 2017.

One charge was deemed "very serious," the highest of three offense levels, for non-compliance dating back to a 2014 sanction.