ArcelorMittal South Africa has signed two deals to increase its stake in Euronimba, which owns 95% of the Mount Nimba iron ore project in Guinea.
The company has signed agreements with Billiton Guinea to buy its 43.5% stake in Euronimba and with Compagnie Française de Mines et Métaux for its 13%.
BHP Billiton sold its interest in order to exit the West African region and focus on other projects. The company has been attempting to sell its shares in Euronimba since 2012.
"Located near ArcelorMittal's mine and infrastructure operations in Liberia, the Mount Nimba iron ore site has 935 million tonnes of direct shipped ore."
The two deals increase ArcelorMittal's ownership of Euronimba to 56.5%, with the remaining 43.5% held by Newmont LaSource. Newmont has the option to increase its stake in the mine to 50%.
The direct shipped ore requires simple crushing and screening for its use in steelmaking.
The deal, however, depends on the Guinean Government approving the shipment of ore across the border to Liberia, reported Nasdaq.
ArcelorMittal chairman and CEO Lakshmi N Mittal was quoted by Reuters as saying: "Mount Nimba is very interesting because it is close to our existing operations."
"It is 40km away, almost like an adjacent deposit."
The company did not disclose the value of the transaction, which is subject to merger control clearance and approvals from the Government of Guinea.
Source: mining-technology.com
- metaljunction »
- Metal News
Metal News & Events
METALJUNCTION PUBLICATIONS
Coal Insights (English) Monthly
Coal Insights is a ready reckoner for anyone associated with coal. This publication is aimed at tracking everything related to coal in India.
India Coal Market Watch(English) Monthly
ICMW is a one-stop source for all news, data and research pertaining to coal demand, consumption, stocks, spot- and long-term prices with respect to the Indian Market.
India Steel Market Watch (English) Monthly
ISMW is a brand new high-end steel market report, covering all aspects of the steel industry in India.
Steel Insights(English) Monthly
Steel Insights delves into various facets of the domestic and global steel industry such as market fundamentals, raw material price trends, price forecasts etc.