(Yicai Global) March 28 -- China’s largest molybdenum producer CMOC Group said its Brazilian unit has inked a deal with Northern Engineering and Technology Corporation, a Chinese metallurgical and mining design research firm, to develop its niobium and phosphorus project in Brazil.

With the industrial transition of global mining toward a green and low-carbon model, CMOC’s Brazil-based subsidiary has focused on upgrading its equipment and environmental monitoring and management and hopes to start technical cooperation with NETC, the parent company announced yesterday.

CMOC acquired the niobium and phosphorus project in 2016, with the main assets being Niobras Mineração, the world’s second-largest niobium producer, and Copebras Indústria, Brazil’s second-biggest phosphate fertilizer producer, the Henan province-based firm said.

Brazilian mines had nearly 7.4 million tons of niobium and 191 million tons of phosphorus metals in reserve as of last year, presenting a great prospect in exploring and developing the metals, CMOC noted.

Tasso Mendoça, director of Brazil’s National Mining Agency, and Andréa Vulcanis, head of Brazil’s Goiás environment bureau, were present at the signing ceremony, according to CMOC.

Editor: Martin Kadiev