FILE PHOTO: A piece of malachite, a copper ore which is one of the metals used to build batteries for electric vehicles. Reuters
SYDNEY: Pacific nation Kiribati says it is exploring a deep-sea mining partnership with China, dangling access to a vast patch of Pacific Ocean harbouring coveted metals and minerals.
Beijing has been ramping up efforts to court Pacific nations sitting on lucrative seafloor deposits of cobalt, nickel and copper - recently inking a cooperation deal with Cook Islands.
