Brazilian miner Vale has announced that it will acquire a 15 percent stake in the Minas-Rio iron ore operation in Brazil owned by UK-based mining giant Anglo American for $157.5 million and that Anglo American will integrate the Brazilian giant’s Serra da Serpentina high quality iron ore resources into the Minas-Rio mine.
As part of the agreement, Anglo American will continue to control, manage and operate the Minas-Rio mine, including any further expansions. In addition, Vale will have an option to acquire another 15 percent interest in the expanded Minas-Rio operation.
“The opportunity to partner with Vale to secure a high-grade iron ore resource of this scale and quality, right next door to Minas-Rio, is compelling - particularly given all the physical synergies of our mining and processing infrastructure to create a single optimized operation, combined with the option to access Vale’s rail and port logistics. The sheer scale and quality of the Serpentina ore body offers significant value, including through the scope to expand the production of the premium grade pellet feed products we sell to steelmaking customers as they focus on decarbonizing their own processes for decades to come. The Minas-Rio DRI-grade product sells into one of the most attractive growth segments available in our industry today,” Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad stated.
Minas-Rio is an integrated iron ore operation with a high-grade pellet feed capacity of 26.5 million mt per year of high-grade pellet feed, with the potential to expand to up to 31 million mt per year. The operation comprises mine, plant, geotechnical, and supporting structures in Minas Gerais and a 529-kilometer pipeline connecting the plant to the filtering plant at Açu Port in Rio de Janeiro. Minas-Rio produced 24 million mt of iron ore in 2023. On the other hand, the Serra da Serpentina deposit is adjacent to the Minas-Rio operation, with resources estimated at 4.3 billion mt.