An acid squeeze is the latest obstacle facing giant copper mines

The partners expect to produce up to 40,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year beginning in 2022.

Vale has focused on sales of better quality iron ore, mostly from its S11D project in Pará state, as demand for the cleaner and less polluting product rises in China, its main market.

The world’s No.1 miner had decided to offload Cerro Colorado mine in May last year, as part of chief executive Andrew Mackenzie’s bid to focus on large assets in commodities such as iron ore, copper and oil.

The company received approval for a three-year extension of its mining concessions for the Posse gold deposit.

The Australian major has signed option and farm-in agreements for Cornerstone Capital Resources’ Miocene and Mirasol Mining's Gorbea properties, all of them in northern Chile.

Antipa Minerals reported "weak mineralization" in a target area that is part of the Citadel project, which has been touted as likely rich in copper.

The diversified miner anticipates 2018 production to be 2% ahead of previous guidance and costs to be 5% below.

Miocene is in the Atacama and Antofagasta regions of Chile, where Cornerstone is targeting epithermal gold-silver and porphyry gold-copper deposits.

The Cozamin project is a polymetallic underground mine with a surface milling facility.