Stausholm hinted that changes were possible to the mine's design plan that might make it palatable to Native Americans.

The company is currently figuring out ways to extract up to ten so-called critical minerals from copper waste at its mining facility in Utah.

Silver is now headed for its worst month in a year, while gold is on course for its biggest monthly drop since June.

Piedmont has already spent $58 million on the project, which would produce about 30,000 tonnes of lithium annually.

The rise in the 10-year treasury yield “provides a massive headline for gold," analyst says.

A labor shortage and reluctance to open new mines has left US coal companies struggling to keep up with surging global demand.