Manara Minerals Investment Company, a joint venture between Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) and the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has signed a binding agreement to acquire a 10 percent stake in Brazil’s base metals company Vale.

Vale, which has projects in Canada, Brazil and Indonesia, is being acquired with an enterprise value of $26 billion, Ma’aden said in a statement to Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul stock exchange, where its shares are traded.

“Manara’s investment into Vale will play a key role in helping it expand the production of copper and nickel across its asset portfolio, which is critical to the development of new technologies that will benefit the global energy transition. The acquisition furthers Ma’aden’s strategy of increasing the supply of strategic minerals and enabling Saudi Arabia to play a growing role in the global energy transition supply chains,” the company said.

The deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.

The capital program is expected to expand copper production from 350kt/year to 900kt/year, as well as nickel production from 175kt/year to more than 300kt/year.

“We see these strategic investments as a major milestone in our path to accelerate accretive growth in our Energy Transition Metals business platform, creating significant long-term value for all of our stakeholders. With our high-quality portfolio, we are uniquely positioned to meet the growing demand for green metals essential for the global energy transition, while remaining committed to strong social and environmental practices and sustainable mining.”

Ma’aden, which operates several extraction sites and mines in Saudi Arabia to produce gold, copper, iron ore and strategic minerals, has a 51 percent stake in Manara, while the PIF holds a 49 percent interest.