China Minmetals signs 20m tonnes iron ore purchase agreement with Brazil’s Vale

SHANGHAI – State-owned metals and mineral trading firm China Minmetals signed a 20 million tonne iron ore purchase agreement with Brazilian mining giant Vale on Tuesday.

The agreement was signed during a ceremony at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai.

China is the world’s biggest consumer of the steelmaking ingredient.

Minmetals also signed a 2,400 tonne nickel briquette purchase agreement with Japan’s Sumitomo Corp. That was for purchases over a five-year period.

(By David Stanway and Dominique Patton; Editing by Joseph Radford)