By Brazil Stock Guide – Vale said on Tuesday it will invest approximately $190 million to acquire a 30% minority stake in Ligga, a mining company that operates the Ferro Sul mine in Brazil’s Carajás region in the northern state of Pará.
As part of the transaction, Vale will also enter into a long-term offtake agreement to exclusively purchase 100% of the sinter feed iron ore produced by Ligga. The duration of the agreement was not disclosed.
The deal gives Vale access to additional iron ore volumes in Carajás while leveraging its existing logistics infrastructure, under what the company described as a lower-capital-intensity model.
Ligga currently has annual iron ore production capacity of about 2 million metric tons. The company plans to increase capacity to 8 million tons per year, with the expansion expected to come online in June 2028.
The project includes a new beneficiation plant, infrastructure works and a rail connection linking Ligga’s operations to the Carajás Railway.
The ore will then be transported through Vale’s rail network to the Ponta da Madeira maritime terminal in São Luís, in the northeastern state of Maranhão.
Vale said the agreement secures long-term access to additional volumes of high-quality iron ore while increasing the flexibility of its Northern System portfolio.
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