Vale South Africa Exploration Limited, a subsidiary of Vale Inco Limited, has acquired an industrial mining exploration license in the Southern Regional State after depositing USD 1 million in a closed book account. Vale Inco Limited has 500,000 shareholders and a market capitalization of approximately USD 160 billion. It has acquired an 1822sq/m expanse of land in Konso, Southern Regional State to explore copper, cobalt and nickel. In 2010, Vale acquired a prospecting license to assess the region’s potential before applying for the mining license.