Tata Steel announces mining partnership with Quebec govt

Tata Steel Minerals Canada todaysaid it has signed agreements with Quebec government entitiesto conclude investments of Canadian dollar 175 million (nearlyRs 875 crore) to set up mining operations in QuebecNewfoundland and Labrador peninsula in Canada.

"Tata Steel Minerals Canada together with its parentcompanies signed definitive agreements for concludinginvestments of Canadian dollar 125 million as equity andCanadian dollar 50 million as debt with the government ofQuebec's investment entities, Resources Quebec (RQ) andInvestment Quebec, (IQ) respectively, totaling Canadian Dollar175 million," Tata Steel said in a BSE filing.

It further said: "The investment will result in an 18 percent equity stake for Resources Quebec in Tata Steel MineralsCanada in line with the carrying value of the investment inCanadian iron ore assets for Tata Steel. Consequently, theshareholdings of Tata Steel and New Millennium Iron will beadjusted to 77.68 per cent and 4.32 per cent, respectively".

Tata Steel Minerals Canada is a joint venture establishedin October 2010 by the Indian firm and New Millennium IronCorp, with the former owning 94 per cent.

Tata Steel said it has invested in Eastern Canada to setup mining operations across several deposits straddled acrossthe Quebec-Newfoundland and Labrador peninsula and multipleprocessing facilities, including a state-of-the-artbeneficiation plant.

"The project has consequently enabled the development ofinfrastructure facilities, including rail, roads,telecommunications and port, that has had significant positiveimpact on the socio-economic landscape in Quebec, Newfoundlandand Labrador," it added.

Tata Steel Group Executive Director (Finance andCorporate) Koushik Chatterjee said: "This investment signalsthe Government of Quebec's co-operation in supportingsustainable development in line with the objectives of itsPlan Nord Initiative.."

The company is confident that the Quebec government'sinvestment will facilitate implementation of Tata SteelMineral Canada's future plans of ramping up production,improving cost competitiveness and the development of themineral deposits in Quebec.