Chinese Mining Group Baiyin Nonferrous to Acquire Brazil’s Mineração Vale Verde

Chinese mining group Baiyin Nonferrous is set to acquire Mineração Vale Verde, a Brazilian mining company owned by British private equity manager Appian Capital Advisory. Mineração Vale Verde operates the Serrote mine in Alagoas, specializing in copper concentrate production. The deal will be executed through the purchase of stakes in AMH 2 and Serrote Participações, both investment vehicles managed by Appian.

The acquisition is currently pending approval from Brazil's antitrust regulator, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), as well as the Chinese government. Sources familiar with the matter expect the deal to close early next year.

Appian Capital took over Mineração Vale Verde in 2021, developing the Serrote project in Craíbas, Alagoas. The project includes ore processing facilities and copper concentrate production. Since its inception, over 271,400 dry metric tonnes of copper concentrate have been exported, with 74,000 tonnes shipped so far in 2024. In the first four months of this year, more than 32,000 tonnes of copper concentrate were sent to China.

Copper demand is projected to grow, driven by its use in energy transition technologies, such as electric vehicles, batteries, wind turbines, and solar panels. The acquisition of Mineração Vale Verde marks Baiyin's first foray into the Brazilian market. Baiyin specializes in mining, smelting, and producing non-ferrous metals in China, including copper, zinc, lead, gold, and silver.

Appian Capital Advisory continues to maintain other investments in Brazil, including operations in Atlantic Nickel (ATN), a nickel sulfide producer, and a graphite production project in Bahia. When approached for comment, Appian stated that it continuously evaluates opportunities to optimize its portfolio but declined to comment on the ongoing sales process. Baiyin Nonferrous did not respond to requests for comment.