February 17, 2005
Brazilian CVRD and Venezuelan Carbozulia agreed to form coal joint venture

(BNamericas.com) - "Brazilian resources giant CVRD and Venezuelan state-development agency Carbozulia have reached an agreement to form a joint venture to develop Venezuelan coal deposits, a CVRD spokeswoman confirmed to BNamericas.

CVRD, the world's largest producer of iron ore and pellets, and Carbozulia reaffirmed their memorandum of understanding to form Carbosuramerica announced by Brazil's national development bank BNDES in September.

Carbosuramerica will be a joint venture between CVRD, Carbozulia and a private Venezuelan company to be selected after feasibility studies are completed and final negotiations concluded. The companies expect to have a final agreement, including levels of participation, in the next 60 days, the spokeswoman said.

The joint venture will develop coal reserves at Socuy and other deposits in the Venezuelan state of Zulia. CVRD has sought to diversify its mining operations, specifically targeting coal. The company is currently doing feasibility studies to develop coal fields in China and Mozambique and has previously expressed an interest in developing Venezuelan coal reserves.

The deal was signed during a visit by Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to Venezuela to strengthen trade and business ties between the two countries".