Vale and China’s Jinnan to invest $627 million in Oman processing plant

Brazilian mining company Vale and Chinese steel producer Jinnan Iron&Steel Group have announced a joint investment of $627 million in a processing plant in Oman. This is stated in the report of Vale.

The facility will be located in the port city of Sohar. It is planned that the plant will start operating in 2027. The facility will process 18 million tons of low-quality iron ore annually, producing 12.6 million tons of high-quality concentrate per year.

Vale will invest $227 million to connect the facility to its sintering capacity in the region. Jinnan, in turn, will invest about $400 million to build and operate the plant, which it will own.

“The Sohar enrichment plant is a key investment for Vale as we expand our capacity to meet growing global demand for high quality iron ore and further build our presence in the Middle East. This project combines Brazil’s high-quality iron ore capacity with Oman’s advantageous location and infrastructure to strengthen integration between the two countries, and strengthens our partnership with China through Jinnan,” said Vale CEO Gustavo Pimenta.

The facility is to turn iron ore into a higher quality concentrate to produce premium pellets and eventually briquettes with less environmental impact.

As noted, this is Jinnan’s first project in Oman and highlights the country’s attractiveness as a destination for major industrial investment.

Vale intends to replicate this investment model in its megahubs – the miner has announced the creation of three such in the Middle East (Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) and has signed agreements to develop similar projects in Brazil and the US.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Vale and the leading steel producer in Latin America, Ternium, will build a briquette plant in Santa Cruz, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro. Thus, Ternium aims to reduce emissions from its slab production – they are expected to decrease by 10%.