On August 8, Hubei-based Chinese steelmaker Wuhan Iron & Steel Co. (WISCO) received a shipment from Brazil of 162,000 mt of iron ore concentrate at Ningbo port - the first iron ore shipment which the steelmaker has received from the overseas mines in which it has invested. Meanwhile, the first shipment of iron ore from WISCO's Canadian Bloom Lake project set out from Sept Iles, Quebec on July 23 and is due to arrive at the Chinese port of Ningbo in early September.
WISCO signed a partnership contract with Brazil-based EBX on November 30, 2009, agreeing to purchase a 21.52 percent stake in Brazilian iron ore miner MMX Mineracao e Metalicos SA for US$400 million. The deal included a 20-year iron ore purchase and sales agreement and made WISCO the second-largest shareholder in MMX. On June 29, the first shipment of iron ore concentrate produced by MMX left Rio de Janeiro in the direction of Ningbo port.