The two companies will establish a long-term strategic partnership for the supply of spodumene concentrates.

The world's biggest producer and consumer of the dirty fossil fuel churned out 357.09 million tonnes of coal last month.

ArcelorMittal said it expects a slight contraction in Chinese steel demand in 2021, citing the country's real estate sector.

"Structural shortage is set to hit in 2022," Benchmark Mineral Intelligence CEO Simon Moores tweeted recently.

Plan includes petroleum, natural gas, copper, chrome, tungsten and rare earths.

Despite an unexpected energy crunch that left authorities scrambling to guarantee coal supplies over the winter, it is still mostly business as usual for Henan's old mining regions.

Energy security concerns will keep China from supporting the proposal on coal, Bloomberg sources say.

Chinese customers are reluctant to sign up for copper supply in 2022 at the highest premium in seven years.