SAO PAULO – Brazilian mining company Vale said on Wednesday it is nearing conclusion of a deal to sell a stake in Mozambique's Moatize coal project to Japan's Mitsui & Co.
Vale said it expects to receive by the end of this month an initial payment of $733-million from Mitsui from the equity sale. The company said it would receive $2.7-billion more after the financing for the project of the mine and the transportation system is concluded.
Vale has been in talks with Mitsui over the Moatize project for almost three years. But the firms previously had said that any payments or the conclusion of the deal would only take place once financing was sealed. Now, the two processes are being handled separately.
Mitsui will have an option to transfer back to Vale the stake in the project if financing is not completed by December, the statement said.
The Japanese company is buying 15% of Vale's 95% share in the coal mine. It is also acquiring 50% of Vale's 70% stake in the Nacala logistics corridor, a railway system connecting production at the mine to the Nacala port, in Mozambique.