By Marcelo Portela
June 18, 2026

The possible takeover of the West-East Integration Railway (FIOL) construction by the Portuguese group Mota-Engil could boost a number of mining projects in the state of Bahia. One of them is Green Iron, Brazil Iron’s US$5.7 billion project, which the company says is already fully financed through an integrated development model backed by an offtake agreement.

Speaking to Notícias de Mineração Brasil (NMB) on the sidelines of the International Seminar on Critical and Strategic Minerals held in Brasília, Emerson Souza, Vice President of Institutional Relations at Brazil Iron, said the company has already secured an agreement worth approximately R$30 billion to supply 5 million tonnes of pellet feed annually.

The completion of FIOL represents a decisive step toward the development of the Green Iron project, which includes the construction of a 120-kilometer private railway branch connecting the operation in the municipality of Piatã, Bahia, to the main railway line.

Brazil’s National Land Transport Agency (ANTT) has already approved the request to transfer the FIOL concession to Mota-Engil.

“Whether it is the Portuguese group or anyone else, the important thing is that FIOL gets completed,” Souza said.

With this objective in mind, the developer of the Green Iron project previously held discussions with Kazakhstan’s Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) regarding the acquisition of Bamin, owner of the integrated Pedra de Ferro project. The project includes the Pedra de Ferro iron ore mine in Caetité, the concession for a section of FIOL, and the future Porto Sul, a deep-water port in Ilhéus intended for exporting production.

The acquisition had also attracted interest from a consortium formed by Vale and Cedro Mineração. However, the global mining company ultimately withdrew after determining that approximately US$5 billion would be required to complete the project.

Brazil Iron is moving with greater urgency after spending more than a decade developing its Bahia project and betting on the growing global demand for decarbonized iron. The company plans to produce the material using renewable energy sources and technologies such as conveyor belt systems to transport production directly to its private railway branch.

“There will be a deficit of 109 million tonnes by 2040,” Emerson Souza emphasized, referring to the projected market shortage of pellet feed that the company intends to produce in Bahia.

Photo: Disclosure

Source: Progress on FIOL Helps Unlock Brazil Iron Project.