News flow out of the diamond industry in 2018 has been dominated by the progression of lab-created diamond production, distribution and pricing dynamics.
The country's state development agency says Albemarle has failed to provide as much as 25% of its annual production at a discount to companies seeking to produce battery metals within Chile, as stipulated in a contract signed in 2016.
Rio's interest in the area has sparked a stampede into adjacent lots by other explorers, who see Rio's aggressive activity as an indicator of a highly promising find.
Mining vast untapped reserves of bauxite, phosphate, gold, copper and uranium is key to the Saudi Arabia's efforts to diversify its economy away from hydrocarbons.
Over its almost 18-year mine life, Santo Domingo is expected to produce an average of 134-million pounds a year of copper, 4.2-million tonnes a year of iron concentrates and 17,000 annual ounces of gold.