Sibanye is currently awaiting a decision on appeals against an environmental permit it received for the Rapasaari mine and concentrator, part of the Keliber lithium project.
Under the deal, which still must be approved by regulators in Ottawa, Glencore is to pay $6.9 billion for 77% of Elk Valley Resources, Teck’s coal business.
The agreed rules set targets for the region to mine 10% of the critical raw materials it consumes, such as lithium, and for the first time copper and nickel.