vale gets offers for stake in base metals unit: reports
brazilian miner vale sa received binding offers for a s...
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brazilian mining company vale sa logo and trading symbol are displayed on a screen at the new york stock exchange (nyse) in new york, u.s., december 6, 2017. reuters/brendan mcdermid/file photo
brazilian miner vale sa received binding offers for a stake in its base metal unit, local newspaper valor economico has reported, citing unnamed sources.
vale would sell 10 per cent of the unit worth around $2.5 billion, the newspaper reported, adding the binding offers are likely to be analyzed on thursday by the company’s board.
earlier this year, vale said it expected an advance in its efforts to sell its stake to come in the first half of this year.
the company’s press office declined to comment.
the based metals unit would include vale’s sudbury operations. vale is sudbury’s largest private-sector employer. with five mines, a mill, a smelter, a refinery and nearly 4,000 employees, sudbury is one of the largest integrated mining complexes in the world.
sudbury products include nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum group metals, gold and silver.
creating the unit is part of vale’s decision to separate its iron ore operation from its copper, nickel and platinum assets, into a new firm named vale base metals that is headquartered in toronto.
the spin-off would have independent governance and a board that includes deep underground mining and electric-vehicle specialists.
vale has been seeking to unlock value from the unit, given the expected demand for nickel and copper for the production of batteries for electric vehicles and other components related to the energy transition towards more electrification.
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