Vale, Cevital and the state of Para have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to build a steel mill in Brazil, a state government news agency said this week.
The document was signed at Vale’s headquarters in the city of Rio de Janeiro in the Brazilian state of same name by representatives of Vale, Cevital and the state of Para.
According to Para state news agency, Agencia Para, it took “a lot of months” for the three parties to reach a decision on signing a MoU.
The document establishes Cevital’s interest in building the mill and fixes the conditions for the transfer of the sites and licenses owned by Acos Laminados Para (Alpa) by Vale to Cevital, along with conditions for the supply of iron ore and the transportation of the commodity and steel by Vale to Cevital.
According to Agencia Para, Cevital expects to produce 2.7 million mt of steel per year in coils, billets, blooms and rails.
As previously reported by SteelOrbis, Vale has been “studying” the possibility of building a steel mill in the Brazilian state.
The miner spent $300 million, including the engineering project, of a steel mill in the state of Para called Alpa.
Alpa is short for Para Finished Steel or Acos Laminados Para.
By the time Vale and Cevital signed a protocol of intentions, Vale was expected to contribute with technical cooperation, research as well as the projects it has for Alpa, a JV project between the two companies.
Vale will also contribute with the site it already has for Alpa as well as already approved environmental licenses. At the time, the mill was expected to start up in 2019.