淡水河谷擬與福蒂斯丘組建合資公司
Vale, the world’s biggest iron ore miner, and Fortescue Metals Group have forged an agreement aimed at boosting their competitiveness in the key market of China, and giving the Brazilian company a foothold in the ore-rich Australian Pilbara region.
世界最大鐵礦石生產商巴西淡水河谷(Vale)與澳大利亞福蒂斯丘金屬集團(Fortescue Metals Group)達成一項協議，該協議的目的是提升二者在中國這個關鍵市場的競爭力，併爲淡水河谷在礦石含量豐富的澳大利亞皮爾巴拉(Pilbara)地區提供一個立足點。
The miners said on Tuesday that they proposed to form one or more joint ventures for blending and distribution of iron ore in China, a move that would ratchet up competition with Anglo-Australian rivals Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, the number two and three producers of the steelmaking ingredient.
這兩家礦商周二表示，它們擬組建一家或多家合資企業，以在中國混合和分銷鐵礦石。此舉將加劇它們與英澳競爭對手力拓(Rio Tinto)及必和必拓(BHP Billiton)的競爭。力拓和必和必拓分別是世界第二大和第三大鐵礦石生產企業。鐵礦石是鍊鋼的原料之一。
The agreement, which is the result of year-long negotiations, provides the potential for Brazil-based Vale to buy a minority stake on the market of up to 15 per cent in FMG, the Australian company that is the world’s number four producer of iron ore.
這份耗時一年談成的協議，爲淡水河谷提供了在市場上買入福蒂斯丘至多15%股權的可能性。福蒂斯丘是世界第四大鐵礦石生產商。
The memorandum of understanding also provides a framework for potential investment by Vale in current or future mining assets held by FMG, although the terms are non-binding and subject to the approval of both company’s boards and regulators.
這份諒解備忘錄還爲淡水河谷對福蒂斯丘當前或未來所持的礦業資產展開投資提供了一個框架，儘管協議條款不具約束力、並且還有待兩家公司的董事會及監管機構批准。
“We are looking more than 10 years ahead,” said Peter Poppinga, head of Vale's iron ore business. “The memorandum of understanding is one more important step towards optimising Vale’s supply chain, creating new platforms for future mine development and offering a new world-class alternative product to the Chinese steel industry.”
“我們考慮的是未來十多年的事情，”淡水河谷黑色金屬業務執行董事彼得•波平加(Peter Poppinga)表示，“這份諒解備忘錄朝着優化淡水河谷供應鏈又邁出了重要一步，爲未來的礦業發展創造了新平臺，並向中國鋼鐵業提供了一種新的世界級的替代產品。”
Blending of different grades of iron ore can produce a mix that is better suited to use in blast furnaces than the product of a single company's mines. FMG produces ore that is comparatively low in iron content and therefore usually sold at a discount to the main iron ore benchmark price.
把不同品級的鐵礦石混合到一起，可以形成比某一家公司生產的礦石更適合在高爐中使用的混合物。福蒂斯丘生產的礦石含鐵量相對較低，因而其售價往往低於主要的鐵礦石基準價格。
