Zamin Ferrous ships 1st iron ore cargo to China

Thu Jun 16, 2011 4:30pm GMT

* Zamin looks for partners
* Middle-Eastern, Chinese steelmakers interested

LONDON, June 16 (Reuters)- Swiss-based iron ore mining start-up Zamin Ferrous said it shipped its first cargo from its Zamapa mine in Brazil to China and was holding discussions with potential partners over projects in Brazil and Uruguay.

The company sold its first cargo of 31,000 tonnes of iron ore lump and fines to a broker, it said on Thursday.

Zamin Ferrous is now looking for a partnership that would help finance its two iron ore projects.

"Discussions are underway with steel and mining companies," said Martin Kannengieser, its head of business development.

"We had much interest from Chinese and Middle Eastern steelmakers and also from the Americas."

China, the world's largest iron ore consumer, imports about 60 percent of the iron ore it needs to make steel.

Zamin Ferrous expects to produce about 1 million tonnes of iron ore this year at its Brazilian mine and ramp up production to 6-8 million tonnes a year by late 2014. Its Valentines project in Uruguay is expected to start production of 68 percent iron content pellet feed at 18 million tonnes per tonne in 2014.

The company is considering a London flotation that would value the company at 2 -2.5 billion pounds.

A supply deficit has lifted spot iron ore prices in the past year. Iron ore hit a record high at $193 a tonne for 62 percent iron content material on cost-and-freight China basis in February, according to the Platts iron ore index < IODBZ00-PLT>. It was at $175.25 a tonne, on the same basis, on Thursday.

(Editing by Jane Baird)