Syrah will supply 2 kilotonnes of natural graphite per month in the year following commissioning.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian government said that EV producers shouldn't anticipate any significant recovery in prices.

Nickel prices plunged by around 45% last year, and dipped briefly below $16,000 a ton earlier this month.

Chinese firms put $28.2 billion into EV-related industries last year.

A total of 18 critical mineral blocks, including tungsten, vanadium, cobalt and nickel, will be auctioned in eight states across the country.

The company said it expected lithium sales volumes to increase 5%-10% this year.

The changes led by CEO Mike Henry will see several specialist teams disbanded and their functions reassigned in a bid to cut costs and simplify operations.

Chile’s government expects to lay out by March the broad terms of lithium contracts to be offered under a new public-private partnership model.