China is likely to become the first country in the world to start mining seabed minerals if the international rules for exploitation are approved next year.
Weda Bay, a nickel pig iron (NPI) project, is a nine-million-tonne nickel resource which will be run by Eramet and its JV partner Tsingshan Holding Group.
The company has been shifting to underground mining from an open pit at its giant Grasberg mine in Indonesia and had previously warned that production would take a hit.