Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton said on Thursday it was forming a joint venture with Japanese steelmaker JFE steel that will underpin iron ore sales worth $3,7-billion over the next 11 years.
The joint venture partners will work together to develop and commercialise part of BHP Billiton’s Yandi mine in northwestern Australia.
BHP Billiton said in a statement that the ”pistolite” ore found in the relevant section of the mine had not been used in the steelmaking process before and the joint development of the reserves would extend the life of the Yandi mine.
BHP Billiton will retain a 68% interest in the lease of the Yandi joint venture area, with JFE taking 20% and Japanese companies Itochu Minerals and Energy and Mitsui Iron Ore Corp holding 6,4% and 5,6% respectively.
”The joint venture will be BHP Billiton’s first iron ore joint venture with a Japanese steelmaker and will underpin sales of approximately 16-million tonnes per annum of iron ore from BHP Billiton’s suite of products over the next 11 years, valued at
around 3,7 billion US dollars,” the miner said in a statement. – Sapa