Huaihua, Hunan (Platts)--18Feb2011/150 am EST/650 GMT
Chinese steelmaker Wuhan Steel has entered into an agreement with Canada's Century Iron Ore Company for cooperation in iron ore exploration in Quebec, Canada, Wuhan Steel said Friday in a statement. In January 2011, Wuhan Steel signed a binding framework agreement with Century Iron Ore for cooperation in iron ore exploration. Under the agreement, Wuhan Steel will purchase 25% of the issued and outstanding shares of Century Iron Ore (on a non-diluted basis) upon completion of a Qualifying Transaction with Red Rock Capital Corp. Wuhan Steel will also enter into joint venture agreements with Century Iron Ore for ownership of Century Iron Ore's subsidiaries that hold interests in three properties including Labec Century Iron Ore Inc. (Labec). The joint venture agreements provide for Wuhan Steel to inject new capital in exchange for a 40% equity interest in each subsidiary. On February 15, Wuhan Steel entered into a formal strategic cooperation agreement with Canada's Adriana Resources Inc. for the development, construction and operation of the Lac Otelnuk Project in Quebec. In August 2010, Wuhan Steel received the first shipment of Wuhan Steel's captive Canadian ore from Consolidated Thompson Iron Ore Mines, totaling 160,500 mt. The first shipment of Wuhan Steel's captive Brazilian ore from EBX Group's MMX, totaling 150,000 mt, was delivered later in 2010. --Reggie Le, newsdesk@platts.comSimilar stories appear in Steel Markets Daily. See more information at http://bit.ly/SteelMarketsDaily