We see ourselves as a new player in the world market, with a big exploratory potential for magnetic bodies, a privileged geographic location and an easy implementation, thus providing an alternative for iron ore supply that’s independent of already overcrowded port and transportation facilities.

We have been an operational iron ore extraction company since 2005 and the holders of a carving ordinance and research licenses issued by the DNPM. We intend to produce Pellet Feed from Itabirite ore, with integrated logistic operations especially focused on exportation. The five blocks, Jucurutu I, Jucurutu II, Cruzeta, Equador and São Mamede, were the objects of aerial magnetometry, which indicated the existence of 3.8 billion tons of exploratory potential of magnetic bodies. So far, we have carried out geological studies which have confirmed the existence of 312.4 million tons of measured and indicated resources, and 98.4 million tons of inferred iron ore resources.

The Jucurutu II block, the closest one to the coast, is located approximately 125km from the shore, which we believe to be the shortest distance between an iron ore mine and an outflow point in Brazil. We intend to take advantage of that proximity and of the plane terrain to implant a mining pipeline, a terminal and a sea transboarding system on the Northern shore of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, which will be a new and efficient option of iron ore supply for customers in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the US, outside the already saturated logistic system in Brazil’s Southeast.
We started our activities with a period of testing of the model between October 2005 and the beginning of 2008, with our first exports in January 2006. Within this period, we produced approximately 400,000 tons of sinter feed and lump ore.

In 2008, we began the implementation of a pilot plant for the production of Pellet Feed, with a capability for the production of 1.2 million tons. We still intend to implement two more plants for combined production of up to 12 million tons of Pellet Feed, in a location adjoining Jucurutu.

We are port operators in the Suape Port, in the state of Pernambuco, where we maintain two ship-loaders and one LHMC,, with a capacity for moving 3,000 tons of solid bulks per hour. Our intention is to use this structure to the incremental production of 6 million tons of iron ore from our blocks in the south of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, and in the states of Paraíba and Pernambuco, in addition to third-party bulks, such as pet coke, clinker, high furnace scrap, fertilizer and plaster. Suape offers ideal conditions for the installation of a pelletization plant, to use our fine iron ore.

In July 2007, the Noble Group, by means of share subscriptions, acquired through its subsidiary Collingham Participações Ltda., 30% of our stock capital. The Noble Group is one of the world leaders in the management of supply chains, including metals, ores and mineriums. It owns a network with over 100 offices in more than 40 countries, through which it develops services for the integration of several stages of the supply chain, namely, extraction, processing, distribution and delivery of commodities. Among the group’s activities is ship management. It is responsible for a fleet of approximately 440 ships. In addition, in 2007, we signed a 30-year contract with the Noble Group which grants them exclusivity for distributing up to 50% of our entire production to the Asian market, at the prices practiced by the international market.