Nippon Steel Corp, the world's fourth-largest steelmaker, may buy more stakes in coking coal and iron ore mines even after its recent decision to invest in a Canadian mine, since it sees a risk of commodity prices staying high, an executive at the company said.
The firm said on March 3 it will spend around 1.15 billion Canadian dollars ($844 million) to buy a 10% stake in Elk Valley Resources Ltd, the coking coal unit to be spun off from Canadian miner Teck Resources.
Nippon Steel already owns stakes in several coking coal mines, procuring 20% of its annual 27 million tonne imports of the coal. The deal will boost that share to 30%.
But as prices of key steel-making ingredients could remain at high levels, it may not be enough, executive vice president Takahiro Mori said this week.
"If a good mine goes up for sale, we will consider buying a stake," Mori told Reuters in an interview, adding the search includes iron ore. The steelmaker now procures 20% of its 58 million tonnes of iron ore imports from its equity holdings.
(Writing by Rebecca Liu Editing by Tammy Yang)
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