Rio de Janeiro-Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (Vale) said Jan. 30 that it entered into a purchase and sale agreement with Rio Tinto Plc (Rio Tinto) to acquire iron ore and potash assets through an all-cash transaction. The price to be paid for the iron assets amounts to US$750 million, while the potash deposits will be acquired for $850 million, totaling $1.6 billion. The potash assets include 100 percent of the Rio Colorado project; provinces of Mendoza and Neuquén, Argentina; and 100 percent of the Regina project, in Saskatchewan, Canada. Rio Colorado comprehends the development of a mine with an initial nominal capacity of 2.4 million mt/y and potential to be expanded up to 4.35 million mt/y, construction of a railway spur of 350 km, port facilities, and a power plant. Estimated resources amount to 410 million mt. Regina is still at exploration stage, with potential to deliver an annual output of 2.8 million mt. The area already has water, power, and rail infrastructure to serve the project, allowing the transportation of the final product to Vancouver, thus facilitating access to the fast-growing Asian market. Vale already operates Taquari-Vassouras, state of Sergipe, Brazil, where it produced 607,000 mt of potash in 2008. Additionally, it is evaluating the feasibility of potash projects in Brazil (Carnalita) and Argentina (Neuquén), which will involve the use of solution mining, the same technology planned to be employed at Rio Colorado. Simultaneously, it is developing the Bayóvar phosphate project in Peru, expected to come onstream in the second half of 2010, with an estimated capacity of 3.9 million mt/y and budgeted capital expenditures of $479 million. The iron ore assets being acquired include 100 percent of the Corumbá open pit iron ore mining operations, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, with associated logistics assets, including port and barges.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain