Ore for September closed around 7.3% lower at $95.63 a tonne in Singapore. Benchmark spot material dropped to $99.50 a tonne on Monday.

Battery producers and electric automakers, including Tesla, are concerned over longer-term supplies of nickel.

Global benchmark spot gold was on course for a weekly gain, having jumped nearly 2% on an escalation in U.S.-China trade tensions.

The world's biggest miner will face a test of its ability to move beyond bulk mining.

The government is looking into an application by Barrick Niugini Ltd, a joint venture between Barrick and China's Zijin Mining Group.

Malaysia's environment ministry set conditions in December for Lynas to remove its waste stockpiles before it would renew its operating licence.

The Silangan project, originally slated to begin production by 2018, was hit by a ban on new open-pit mining introduced in 2017.

Three Indian state-run companies are to form a joint venture to buy mining assets overseas.