In a joint statement, the two countries said they agreed to deepen their "strategic partnership on supply chain resiliency".

Aluminum traders had seen this movie before back in 2018, when US sanctions on Rusal's owner Oleg Deripaska caused massive upheaval along the entire length of the global supply chain.

Gold's decline comes on the back of a rallying US dollar, which touched a 20-year high.

The US is still dependent on China for minerals to feed its nascent battery manufacturing efforts.

Scorching gains for lithium threaten to push costs even higher for Chinese battery makers.

Russian imports, which remain exempt from US sanctions, are flowing into the country unrestricted when allies like Australia continue to face restrictions.

The collapse of a tailings dam in South Africa earlier this month has put the spotlight on the need for binding global regulations of facilities used to store mining waste.