Vale offers to buy Metorex of South Africa for $ 1.1 billion

08 April 2011, 9: 30 am EDT by Juan Pablo Spinetto and Carli Lourens

(Updates with targets of copper in the third paragraph).

April 8 (Bloomberg) - Vale SA, second the world mining company, has offered to buy South African producer of copper Metorex Ltd. about 7.4 billion rand ($1.11 billion) seeks to increase the production of metal almost five times by 2015.Rio Janeiro Vale database will provide 7.35 rand aparta 3.5% premium on the price of closing company′s yesterday in Johannesburg, according to a statement today Metorex. Shareholders holding approximately 25% of the company′s capital based in Johannesburg agreed to the offer, according to Vale.Vale continues its copper acquisitions it seeks to diversify production of iron ore. The company seeks 1 million tonnes of copper production over the next four years, compared to the production of 207,000 tons about last year, Director General Roger Agnelli said 25 February Metorex is the owner of the Ruashi of copper and cobalt open-pit of the minein the province of Katanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the underground Chibuluma copper mine and the exploitation of zinc of sand in Zambia. It has three projects in the African nation, who holds the 4% of global copper reserves, and is among the largest in the world, cobalt producers, in accordance with the Survey.Metorex geological American produce 26,358 tonnes copper and 2,021 tonnes of cobalt in the six months through December 31 Metorex fell to 4.2 per cent of 6.80 rand and traded to rand 7.05 as of 3 pm Johannesburg, giving the company a market value of 7.08 billion rands.

Link to the statement: {NNW LJC2ZW3HBS3K }

-With statement by Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg. Editor: Dale Crofts, Jessica Brice

To contact the reporter on this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto in Rio de Janeiro jspinetto@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dale Crofts to the dcrofts@bloomberg.net

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