On May 26, 2009, Brazilian mining giant Vale S.A. (Vale), formerly Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, announced that it has formalized an agreement with Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN), in the long-running dispute over the Casa da Pedra iron ore mine located in the Brazil's central state of Minas Gerais.
Vale and CSN had been wrangling since 2000 over rights to sell iron ore from CSN's Casa de Pedra mine. In 2005, antitrust regulators stripped Vale of priority rights to sell ore from the mine, but Vale then demanded compensation for its lost rights.
Under the agreement signed on April 24 this year, CSN will no longer have to sell excess iron ore from the mine to Vale. Furthermore, it will not have to pay the financial compensation Vale was seeking for the termination of the supply contract.
As part of the deal, Vale will supply up to three million metric tons of iron ore pellets to CSN by 2014.
Casa de Pedra produces high grade ore with an iron content of up to 68 percent purity. CSN is currently investing $3 billion to bring production capacity up to 70 million mt annually by 2011.