Energy and commodities firm Vitol has clinched a deal to lift 6m tonnes of iron ore over a 4-year period.

The company said it has entered into a $240m prepayment arrangement with CSN Mining International GMbH, a subsidiary of Sao Paulo-based Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN).

Under the terms of the arrangement, Vitol will lift circa six million tonnes of iron ore over a four-year period.

Vitol claims that this deal is the company’s “first multi-year financing arrangement in the metals space.”

To remind, CSN operates in five strategic sectors of the economy: steel, mining, logistics, cement and energy. The group is present in 17 Brazilian states and in another two countries, Germany and Portugal.

Furthermore, CSN Mining is a large exporter of iron ore in Brazil.

Derek Wilson, global head of steel raw materials, Vitol said: “CSN is one of South America’s leading steel and iron ore producers and has for some time been a valued customer of Vitol’s metallurgical coal and coke businesses.”

“We are pleased to broaden the scope our relationship with CSN through this long-term arrangement which deploys Vitol’s financial, logistics and trading capabilities in the iron ore market. We look forward to expanding our presence in this important market and across the entire steelmaking value chain,” Wilson added.