Brazil’s Vale buying stake in British BSG Resources, with big iron-ore holdings in Guinea

Brazil’s Vale buys stake in British BSG Resources

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian mining company Vale says it will buy a 51 percent stake in England-based BSG Resources in a $2.5 billion all-cash deal.

Vale is the world’s biggest producer of iron ore and the England-based BSG holds iron-ore concession and exploration rights in the West African nation of Guinea.

Vale SA says $500 million is payable immediately and the rest due in installments. The Brazilian miner said in a statement Friday that BSG’s holdings in Guinea are “one of the world’s best undeveloped sources of high-grade iron ore.”

Vale says it will ship the ore from Guinea to a port in Liberia.

As part of that deal, Vale and BSG must jointly renovate 410 miles (660 kilometers) of the Trans-Guinea railway for passenger and light commercial use.