The nickel mine, in Mpumalanga province, was hit by soaring costs and lower metals prices in the last few years.

Nickel prices rallied over 34% from the beginning of July, mainly on the back of a flurry of speculative activity spurred by supplyside fears in Indonesia.

Consultancy Roskill estimates most new greenfield nickel projects would need prices at $22,000 a tonne or above.

The Canadian billionaire investor has splashed over C$145 million on gold, silver, and nickel explorers.

The Vancouver company is seeking to raise $75,000 for geological mapping, prospecting and sampling at the Love Lake project.

Nornickel's first-half net profit jumped to $3 billion as London palladium prices rose by 40%.

BHP Group posted its largest annual profit in five years and record full-year dividends.

In FY2018 the company posted a profit of $8.9 billion, 33% higher y-o-y.