OREANDA-NEWS. June 29, 2011. JFE Steel Corporation announced today that it will acquire an additional 1,674,499,584 shares, or 6.45%, in Brazil Japan Iron Ore Corporation from Nippon Steel Corporation and thereby effectively raise its holdings in the Brazilian iron ore producer and distributor Nacional Minйrios S.A. (NAMISA) from 6.48% to 8.64%. JFE Steel’s share of Brazil Japan Iron Ore will rise to 25.78%.

JFE Steel obtained its current stake in NAMISA when a consortium formed by Brazil Japan Iron Ore — comprising JFE Steel, Nippon Steel, other Japanese steel producers, Itochu Corporation and additional companies — and South Korean steelmaker Posco acquired a combined 40% share of NAMISA in December 2008.

Going forward, JFE Steel expects to make additional equity investments in competitive mines to secure stable, longtime supplies of iron ore in response to the soaring global demand for this resource.