Chief Judge Miranda Du held a Thursday hearing to review the contention from ranchers, environmentalists and Indigenous groups.

Gay Huey Evans will step down as LME chair, but declined to comment on whether it was due to regulatory reviews into the nickel market events.

The extraction process also revealed only two significant impurities of iron and a very small amount of nickel.

The platform will be open to consumers, producers and merchants that are directly involved in the physical market.

The company, until recently known as First Cobalt, will retain its royalty interest in the properties being sold to Kuya Silver.

Industry insiders estimate the price at $3,300 per tonne by 2027, growing to $4,000 by 2031.

Piedmont will supply an increased 125,000 tonnes of lithium concentrate to Tesla starting in H2 2023 through the end of 2025.

Developing the first phase of the NorthMet open-pit operation about 100 km north of the Lake Superior port of Duluth is forecast at $1.2 billion.