Weda Bay, a nickel pig iron (NPI) project, is a nine-million-tonne nickel resource which will be run by Eramet and its JV partner Tsingshan Holding Group.
The company has been shifting to underground mining from an open pit at its giant Grasberg mine in Indonesia and had previously warned that production would take a hit.
Chengdu-based Tianqi reported a net loss of 53.9 million yuan ($7.62 million) for July-September 2019, versus net profit of 379.7 million yuan a year earlier.
Miners, which often use fossil fuels as the energy source in their operations, are shifting to renewable generation as the cost of wind and solar power drops.