The CEO of Brazilian iron ore and steel producer CSN, Benjamin Steinbruch, has reportedly commissioned a consulting company to acquire iron ore and pellet producer Samarco.
Controlled by Brazilian miner Vale and Australia’s BHP, Samarco has been in judicial recovery since April 2021, resulting from the collapse of the Fundao waste dam in 2005, which caused 19 deaths and a massive environmental disaster.
The control of Samarco is in dispute under the judicial recovery, as creditors want to transform the financial debt into new shares of the company, a move that could result in the change of the ownership of the company. This scenario could facilitate the entrance of CSN in the capital of Samarco, in an association with its creditors.
Analysts consider that Samarco is a perfect fit for CSN, as the latter is a consumer of pellets and producer of pellet feed grade iron ore fines, the base raw material to produce pellets.
CSN has a long-term plan, never fulfilled, to build its own pellet plant.
