The Chilean miner has been seeking a buyer for all or part of itself to raise $1 billion to dig for copper and gold in two of its mines in the country's north.
The country's antitrust court has approved a deal between the competition regulator and Tianqi, allowing the Chinese miner to buy a nearly one-quarter stake in lithium producer SQM .
Hydro plans to halt production and lay off 4,700 people at Alunorte, which has been operating at half capacity since March due to an environmental dispute.
Quarterly deal volume was up 91% to $75.7 billion from $39.6 billion in the same period last year, bucking a global trend of declines in Europe and Asia.