Mitsui & Co Ltd has announced that it will spend USD 396 million through its Australian subsidiaries to increase the capacity of iron ore operations in Western Australia, jointly operated with BHP Billiton and Itochu Corp. Mitsui said that the capital expenditure will be used for 50 million tonnes per annum capacity increase to 205 million tonnes per annum. Mitsui is engaged in the business through 3 iron ore JVs namely Mt Newman, Yandi and Mt Goldsworthy. The participating interests of BHP Billiton, Itochu and Mitsui in these JVs are 85%, 8% and 7%, respectively.
