Mota-Engil, the Portuguese engineering and construction conglomerate, is in the final stages of negotiations to acquire the idled iron ore miner Bahia Mineração (Bamin), along with the West-East Integration Railway (FIOL).
Controlled by the Eurasian Resource Group (ERG), headquartered in Kazakhstan, Bamin has already exported iron ore using the logistics of the miner Vale, but halted operations last year, when ERG decided to sell the project, which includes the Pedra de Ferro mine and the concession for the FIOL railway.
In total, the conclusion of the works require an estimated $5 billion, including the construction of the last stretch of FIOL, the expansion of the Pedra de Ferro mine's capacity from the current 1.0 million mt per year to 20 million mt per year, and the construction of an iron ore sea terminal in Ilhéus, both located in the state of Bahia.
According to the Brazilian press, Bamin’s sale is in its final stages and is now being reviewed by ANTT, Brazil’s ground transportation agency.
As a bonus, the conclusion of the FIOL railway could pave the way for the development of other iron ore projects in the State of Bahia.
