Brazilian iron ore miner Vale is reported to have formally resumed its negotiations with Chinese steelmaker Baosteel about the establishment of a $6 billion steelmaking program in Espirito Santo state in southeast Brazil.
In early 2009, Vale and Baosteel had canceled a steel mill they had planned to build in Espirito Santo state after failing to receive approval from Brazil's environmental authorities.
Subsequently, Vale redesigned the scale of the steelmaking project, reducing annual capacity to 500,000 mt. Vale obtained a preliminary environmental license for the project in March of the current year.
Regarding the talks between Vale and Baosteel, "They are just corridor-level talks at the moment, not formal negotiations," an insider told Dow Jones Newswires.
US steelmaker Nucor Corp may also be interested in talking to Vale about joint projects, according to Nucor officials attending last week's Brazilian Steel Institute IABr annual congress in Sao Paulo.