Nippon Steel, Sojitz to take 49% stake in Champion Iron’s project in Canada

The Kami open-pit iron ore mine is located to the south of Labrador City and Wabush in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Credit: Stantec

Australia’s Champion Iron said on Thursday Japanese firms Nippon Steel and Sojitz will take up a 49% stake for A$245 million ($152.39 million) in the company’s Kami project in Canada.

The Kami project will also receive up to A$490 million in contributions from Nippon and Sojitz, which will hold a 30% and 19% stake, respectively, in the project.

Nippon, Japan’s largest steelmaker, is looking to optimize its supply chain from Kami, with a long mine life, the company’s managing executive officer Ryuichi Nagai said.

However, Champion will retain operatorship of the project and oversee potential developments and future operations.

Nippon will invest C$150 million ($103.84 million) for their stake in Kami, while incurring about C$1.16 billion in development costs by the project’s completion, with the costs subject to investor approval of the project’s development and the results of a future feasibility study, the company said in a statement.

($1 = 1.6077 Australian dollars)

($1 = 154.7000 yen)

($1 = 1.4445 Canadian dollars)

(By Nichiket Sunil; Editing by Alan Barona)

Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *