October 08, 2008

Confab and MMX sign deal for Minas-Rio slurry pipeline

BNamericas reported that Brazilian steel tube and equipment producer Tenaris Confab and local mining and metals company MMX have signed a contract for the supply of pipes for MMX's Minas-Rio iron complex.

Confab said that in September it received, together with Japan's Marubeni-Itochu Steel and Argentina's Siat, a letter of intent from MMX regarding a possible deal for the MMX project.

Under the final contract, Confab will supply some 249 kilometer of welded pipes for a slurry pipeline, among other services in a deal worth USD 170 million including freight and taxes. Deliveries are due to occur between March and December 2008.

Siat and Marubeni-Itochu will provide the remaining pipes for the project, which according to MMX's website is expected to stretch a total of 525 kilometer.

The slurry pipeline will have capacity to transport 26.6 million tonnes per year of pellet feed and will connect Minas-Rio's iron ore mines in Minas Gerais state with the Açu port terminal in Rio de Janeiro state.