Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (“Mitsui”, Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Kenichi Hori) has agreed and signed related agreements today with the multinational mining and metals corporation BHP to acquire an indirect 7% interest in the Ministers North iron ore deposit (“Ministers North”), currently owned 100% by BHP.
Itochu Corporation (“Itochu”, Head Office: Tokyo, President and COO: Keita Ishii) has also agreed and signed the related agreements to acquire an indirect 8% interest in the Ministers North. Following the fulfillment of the conditions precedent, the shareholding interest of Ministers North between Mitsui, BHP and Itochu will become 7%, 85% and 8% respectively, aligned with the interest of the existing Western Australia iron ore business owned by the three companies.
Ministers North is located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, where Mitsui has been engaged in iron ore projects since the 1960s. It is close to iron ore mines and infrastructure owned jointly by Mitsui, BHP and Itochu. In addition to low operating costs as an open-cut mine, Ministers North is expected to offer synergistic benefits through integrated operations with existing mines and utilization of existing infrastructure owned by Mitsui, BHP and Itochu. It is anticipated that this will lower development costs for Ministers North and allow highly cost competitive operations. Development of Ministers North is subject to a potential final investment decision by June 2026. Once developed, Ministers North would bolster Mitsui’s equity-based production volume* and long-term earnings base. (*62 million tons in FY March 2025)
Mitsui has defined “Industrial Business Solutions” as one of its Key Strategic Initiatives in its Medium-term Management Plan 2026, and has been making efforts to provide solutions for the stable supply of essential resource, materials, infrastructure etc. Steel is a vital material for all industries, and its demand is expected to remain strong especially in Asia. Mitsui will contribute to long-term economic growth in Asia through acquisition, development, and production of Ministers North.
Yandi iron ore mine, approximately 13km from the Ministers North deposit.
Locations of iron ore projects with BHP
