Vale announced Tuesday that it has signed a share purchase agreement to sell its manganese ferroalloys operations in Europe to subsidiaries of Glencore International Plc. for US$160 million in cash. Ferromanganese is an alloy made up of manganese and iron that is used in the steelmaking process to make finished steel products more resistant to rust and eases steel malleability making it easier to shape the material at lower temperatures.
The manganese ferroalloy operations in Europe consist of a 100 percent stake of Vale Manganese France SAS in Dunkerque, France and 100 percent of Vale Manganese Norway AS in Rana, Norway. Vale said that "the sale of the manganese ferroalloys operations in Europe is part of our continuous efforts to optimize the asset portfolio."