Brazilian miner and iron ore producer Vale has signed a contract with China’s Ningbo Zhoushan Port to invest around RMB 4.3 billion ($650.6 million) in iron ore storage and processing facilities in Zhejiang Province, a local government statement said on November 13.
Accordingly, both parties will hold 50 percent stakes in a joint venture to build and operate the West III project at Shulanghu Port. The joint venture will have a registered capital of RMB 1.5 billion.
The project will develop a new stockyard and two loading berths. By participating in the project, Vale will secure a total port capacity of 40 million mt per year in Shulanghu, which will help it to reduce its overall supply chain costs.
An iron ore storage yard with a maximum capacity of 4.1 million mt, an ore blending and processing facility and two shipping berths will be built. The blending and processing facility will have an annual capacity of 21 million mt of ore per year.
The construction of this project, which is expected to take up to three years, will strengthen the distribution capacity of the Shulanghu ore transfer terminal, as SteelOrbis understands.