Brazilian mining giant Vale SA has reached an agreement with state-owned oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) over the production of potash at Taquari-Vassouras mine in Sergipe, Brazil, the company said to IM on Wednesday.
Vale, which has been exploiting the deposit since 1992, produces 850,000 tpa potash under a contract with the oil company which owns the Taquari-Vassouras mine, located in the northeast of Brazil.
The two companies have been negotiating the renewal of the contract for a few months as, according to analysts, Petrobras is looking to acquire nitrogenous assets owned by Vale’s fertiliser subsidiary Vale Fertilizantes SA in Parana state, in exchange for the mining rights of the Sergipe potash deposit.
“We have reached an agreement for Taquari-Vassouras,” declared chief financial officer Tito Martins at Vale Day conference in London,...