According to a report by Reuters on October 7, British mining giant Anglo American Resources will issue a warning during a closed-door hearing on Thursday local time: If the European Commission prevents the company from selling its nickel operations in Brazil to China’s Minmetals Resources Co., Ltd., the company is likely to shut down those operations.
A pre-prepared statement obtained by Reuters shows that Ruben Fernandes, the Brazilian Chief Operating Officer of Anglo-American Resources Group, will say to EU regulators: "Given that Minmetals is the only credible buyer we have found, and considering our commitment to phase out nickel operations two years ago, if the committee prohibits the sale of the company to Minmetals, we have no choice but to enter a 'maintenance' mode and eventually close down."
AngloGold Resources is a nickel mining company located in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Website of AngloGold Resources Group
This battle over nickel mines began even before February 2025. At that time, Anglo American Resources announced that it would sell its nickel operations in Brazil for $500 million to Minmetals Resources. For both companies, this was a win-win transaction. However, for the US and Western countries, which are eager to get rid of China’s dominance over the global nickel supply chain, this is not good news at all.
According to The South China Morning Post, in August last year, the American Iron Association sent a warning letter to the U.S. Trade Representative Office. They exaggerated that if this deal succeeded, “China would have a direct impact on a significant portion of Brazil’s nickel reserves, and it would also strengthen its dominance in nickel production in Indonesia.” They urged the office to pressure Brasília to explore alternative solutions that could “maintain the market-based ownership of these strategic nickel assets.”
Brazilian media later revealed that U.S. Trade Representative Jaime Page demanded that Brazil review this deal in exchange for tariff reductions.
The European Commission also became involved in an investigation in November of the same year. It claimed that Minmetals Resources might be redirecting low-carbon nickel-iron to its affiliated Chinese steel mills, rather than European producers. It stated that such a transfer could have an adverse impact on the price of low-carbon nickel-iron, and would harm the resilience of European stainless steel manufacturers. This claim was sharply refuted by Chinese companies.
According to Reuters, Fernandez and the company’s Brazilian chief financial officer, Christina Morgan, will attempt to persuade the European Commission at a hearing on Thursday that reaching a deal with Chinese companies will not harm European stainless steel producers.
According to the speech, Morgan will emphasize that Minmetals Resources is a reputable buyer who will continue to serve European customers.
She will say: “The selection process carefully reviewed the operational capabilities of potential bidders, their record of responsible operations, their ability to develop future projects, their intentions towards our employees, their fair value, and their ability to finance the acquisition.”
Minmetals Resources is a member of the International Copper and Metals Council (ICMM), just like us. We are well acquainted with it, and it has always been a responsible operator that can provide tangible value for this investment.
Fernández also emphasized that “long-term regulatory reviews have already caused considerable uncertainty locally, but the consequences of the European Commission’s ban on selling this business will be very disturbing.”
According to reports, he will inform the regulatory authorities that it is possible to find a practical solution to address the concerns of the European Union.
