Sumitomo Metal Mining exits Solomon Islands nickel exploration project

Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining said on Tuesday it will withdraw from a nickel exploration project in the Solomon Islands owing to slumping nickel prices, harsh business circumstances and the outcome of legal proceedings. Sumitomo Metal Mining, which began exploring in the Solomons in 2005, has been caught up in a six-year legal battle with Australia's Axiom Mining, which ended this year with neither company being granted the rights over a nickel deposit in Isabel province, it said.