The world's biggest iron-ore miner, Brazil's Vale, has completed its $750-million acquisition of the Corumbá iron-ore mining operations, in Brazil, from rival Rio Tinto, the company reported on Friday.
Vale said it plans to spend more that $2-billion to expand the capacity at Corumbá to 15-million tons a year.
In 2008, Corumbá produced 2-million tons of iron ore.
About $1,5-billion of the estimated capital would be spent to acquire convoys of barges, which could be ordered from Brazilian shipyards.
The expansion project still requires approval from Vale's board of directors.
“Corumbá is a world-class asset, with high iron content and a strategic importance to our product portfolio, adding a substantial volume of lump ore to our reserves,” the company said in a statement.
“Lump ores are becoming increasingly scarce in our iron ore deposits in the southern and southeastern systems in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil,” Vale added.
Further, because of its high quality, a significant portion of the Corumbá reserves can be employed in the direct reduction process, which implies a price premium over other ores.
Source: Mining Weekly
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