On June 24, Chinese steelmaker Hebei Iron and Steel Group (Hebei Steel) signed agreements with Australian-listed miner, Richmond Mining, and its wholly-owned US subsidiary, Nevada Iron, to jointly explore the Buena Vista iron ore mine in Nevada, China Business News has reported.
According to Richmond Mining, the Buena Vista mine has total magnetite reserves of 400 million metric tons and is close to railways and ports.
Under the agreements, Hebei Steel will obtain 80 percent of Buena Vista mine's output in the next 10 years, if it can help Richmond Mining obtain financing of $161 million for the exploration.
Hebei Steel will have the right to appoint a director to the board of Richmond Mining once its stake exceeds 15 percent.
Max Nind, director and general manager of Richmond Mining, stated that the production at Buena Vista mine is planned to start in the fourth quarter of 2012.