Hasan said that the exported steel would be used to establish a hospital in New Zealand.

Major steel producers churned out a total of 20.79 million tonnes of crude steel in late July, the data showed.

Rio Tinto is not concerned about China's plans to centralise iron-ore purchases and has strong ties with its customers, the Australia CEO for the global miner said on Friday.

US carmaker Tesla has signed contracts worth about $5-billion to buy materials for their batteries from nickel processing companies in Indonesia, a senior cabinet minister told CNBC Indonesia.

The Mehrum power plant in Germany is back in operation due to the current gas supply crisis.

These measures have raised concerns that the EU might scale back its climate ambitions.

"The situation on the gas market is tense," Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck said in a statement.

The district, part of an old coal-mining region that closed five years ago, has taken up the challenge of transforming the local economy, embracing green agriculture despite the poor soil and lack of water.