Indonesia and Vale Base Metals have concluded negotiations and agreed to a price for the portion of shares the miner will sell in its Indonesian unit, the mining minister said on Friday.

The French government plans to offer fresh subsidies and loans for a New Caledonia nickel plant co-owned by commodities group Glencore but won’t go any further than that, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday.

A major nickel operation backed by Trafigura Group will need support from a new investor after the trading giant declined to contribute more funds as part of a French government rescue package for the struggling New Caledonian mining industry.

Australian battery metal producer IGO Ltd said on Wednesday it would put its Cosmos nickel project in Western Australia into care and maintenance due to low prices, as it also trimmed its annual lithium production forecast.

Shares in Lifezone Metals, 17% owned by BHP, rose in the early hours of Monday’s trading session on news about a high-grade nickel discovery at its Kabanga project in northwest Tanzania.

Federal Minister for Resources Madeleine King and Western Australian Minister for Mines David Michael met with nickel and lithium producers last week to discuss challenges facing the industry.

An Australian mining association has called for a new production tax credit during meetings with senior ministers called as nickel and lithium miners curtail projects and review new mines in response to a global slump in prices.

Exploration and development company FPX Nickel has closed the private placement financing with new cornerstone investor Sumitomo Metal Mining, raising C$14.45-million.