2010-03-25 14:37

RIO DE JANEIRO - Chinese mining company has agreed to buy the Itaminas iron ore mine from a Brazilian business magnate for $1.2 billion, local media reported on Wednesday.

Valor Economico said mine owner Bernardo de Mello sold the 3 million ton per annum facility to the Chinese State-backed East China Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau (ECE), without saying where it got the information.

A representative of Itaminas contacted by Reuters could not comment on the issue.

The mine has debts of $400 million and an estimated 1.3 billion tons of iron ore reserves. It could produce 25 million tons per annum with additional investment, Valor said.

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ECE, which according to Valor has assets in Indonesia, Australia and Mexico, last September took a controlling stake in London-listed African copper miner Weatherly International Plc which has four copper mines in Namibia.

Soaring iron ore prices that are flirting with the $150 per ton level have sparked growing interest in iron assets, with two Brazilian steelmakers considering spinning off their mining assets as separate companies to take advantage of the boom.