[ferro-alloys.com]Vale informs that it has concluded separate agreements with Wheaton Precious Metals Corp (Wheaton) and with Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. (Cobalt 27) to sell an aggregate total of 75% cobalt stream with reference to the cobalt by-product to be delivered from January 1st, 2021, which encompasses the ramp-down from the existing Voisey’s Bay mine (Voisey’s Bay) and from the Voisey’s Bay underground mine expansion project (VBME), for a total upfront payment of US$ 690 million plus additional payments of 20%, on average, of cobalt prices upon delivery, as detailed below.

The streaming deal enables development of VBME, Vale’s first significant investment announcement in recent years. The transaction substantially improves the financial returns on invested capital of VBME to more than 35% p.a. at market consensus prices. It is aligned with Vale’s rigorous capital allocation process in which projects must be capable to generate returns at current price levels, instead of depending upon future price expectations

The upfront payment of US$ 690 million will be paid in its entirety upon closing of the transaction with US$ 390 million to be paid by Wheaton and US$ 300 million to be paid by Cobalt 27, and it is equivalent to 40% of the estimated VBME nominal capex of US$ 1.7 billion.

Vale remains exposed to approximately 40% of future cobalt production from Voisey’s Bay, through Vale’s retained interest in 25% of cobalt production and the approximately 20% additional payments on the 75% cobalt stream. The cobalt stream is consistent with Vale’s strategy to preserve optionality in nickel, a key input into electric vehicles. VBME will extend the mine life of Voisey’s Bay, granting Vale access to nickel, copper and cobalt reserves and, thus, increasing to an estimated annual production of around 45 kt of nickel, on average, about 20 kt of copper and about 2.6 kt of cobalt, in total.

In order to secure a smooth transition from the open pit to the underground mine, nickel production from Voisey’s Bay mine will be maintained at 38 ktpa from 2018 to 2020, ramping up to 45-50 ktpa of nickel contained in concentrate from 2024 onwards.

• [Editor:王可]