The global nickel market had a surplus of 28,600 metric tons in July, compared with a surplus of 15,900 tons in the same month last year, data from the International Nickel Study Group (INSG) showed on Thursday.

The Philippines’ two biggest nickel producers are planning to invest about $1-billion each to build processing plants, the companies’ top executives said, boosting the government’s push to develop the Southeast Asian nation’s downstream mineral industry.

Philex Mining Corporation is setting its sights on nickel mining in several towns of Zambales as part of its expansion program and in preparation to the projected end of life of its Padcal mine here.

The Philippine government will step up support for the local mining industry via exploration activities starting next year to identify more areas where critical minerals such as nickel and chromium can be extracted, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Top nickel producer Indonesia will not approve any new mining output quotas this year, government official Septian Hario Seto said, a move likely to further tighten supplies of nickel ore.

Russian metals and mining giant Norilsk Nickel is not yet generating free cash flow on a stable enough basis to resume dividend payments, but does not rule out doing so in future, head of investor relations Mikhail Borovikov told reporters on Thursday.

Vale Base Metals is committing $10 billion for investment in Indonesia over the next decade to capture demand for metals such as nickel and copper for electric vehicle production, its chief executive said on Thursday.

Indonesia has asked the United States to begin talks on a trade deal for critical minerals so that exports from the Southeast Asian country can be covered under the US Inflation Reduction Act, an Indonesian ministry said on Thursday.