Brazil’s Minas Gerais state is seeking to develop iron ore that may hold 12 billion metric tons of the raw material or more than Vale SA’s 9-billion proved reserves, Economic Development Secretary Sergio Barroso said.
A group of Brazilian companies was formed to measure the reserves in the northern part of the state, Barroso told reporters today at a mining conference in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The deposit may later be put up for sale to larger mining companies, he said.
“The state will offer transport and tax support,” Barroso said. Barroso said he couldn’t name the companies participating in the group or the larger companies that have expressed an interest in possible acquisition of the site’s mining rights.
The Minas Gerais deposit may be four times larger than Asia’s biggest iron ore deposit, which was found in China’s northern province of Liaoning in June. The Asian deposit has reserves of more than 3 billion metric tons.
Vale, the world’s largest iron ore producer, ended 2008 with proven reserves of 9 billion metric tons, according to the company’s Web site.
An initial confirmation of the Minas Gerais reserves may be ready in late November, when the group will sign an accord with the state for initial development plans, he said.
Source: Bloomberg
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