Suzhou CATH has agreed to invest more than $400 million to become a partner in the Australian explorer’s Manono project in southern DRC.

Miner said current talks are at an early stage, adding there is no guarantee at this point that a transaction would materialize.

Acquisition of Minas De Aguas Teñidas would turn the company into one of Australia’s largest copper-focused metal producers.

The Kachi lithium brine project is expected to produce 25,500 tonnes a year from 2024 with possible expansion to 50,000 tonnes.

The backing of the federal environment minister is described by advocates as a betrayal.

The deal is one of the largest ever in the US lithium market and it t marks Sibanye’s third battery metal investment this year.

The country's tax authority is asking Rio to pay $277m related to a 2015 borrowing used to pay an intragroup dividend.

The non-binding agreements with major importers would cover 100% of future potash production from the Canadian mine.