Metorex says only received firm offer from Vale

Monday,July4,2011

* Vale bid vote set for July 22
* Brazil and China both hungry for African resources

JOHANNESBURG, July 4 (Reuters) - South African miner Metorex (MTXJ.J: Quote) said on Monday that it had still received no firm offer from any party other than Brazil's Vale (VALE5.SA: Quote), which has made a $1.1 billion offer for it.

Metorex said in June that it had received an interest from another party to acquire it and local media has speculated that the mystery suitor is Jinchuan Group Ltd., China's dominant nickel producer.

But time is running out.

"The meeting to vote on the Vale offer is scheduled for July 22. The company has not received a firm offer from any other party," Metorex spokesman Jacques de Bie said in an e-mailed response to questions from Reuters.

"If it does receive a firm offer from someone else, then Vale will be allowed to match (or) better that, at which time the July 22 meeting may or may not need to be postponed," he added.

Metorex would give Vale, the world's largest iron ore producer, exposure to copper and colbalt resources in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo and the proposed delisting of the company from the Johannesburg bourse would remove the political risks associated with South Africa.

China is also hungry for Africa's resources and its companies are in a new scramble on the continent with players from rival emerging market giant Brazil.

The Metorex share price was up 1.64 percent to 8.08 rand. The Metorex offer was set at 7.35 rand per Metorex share and some analysts have said that seemed low, especially given the bullish outlook for copper prices.

The financial advisers for Vale on the deal are Societe Generale and Investec Bank Limited. (By Thomson Reuters)