Emirates Steel has signed a four-year contract with Brazilian metals and mining firm Vale for the supply of iron ore pellets for its steel plant in Abu Dhabi.

It is understood Emirates Steel requires about 6 million tonnes of iron ore pellets a year.

According to Emirates Steel CEO Saeed Ghumran al-Romaithi, the agreement is in line with the firm’s strategy to “secure flexible source of iron ore at competitive, stable and long-term prices”.

“We are confident that this long-term supply contract will give us more flexibility to better serve our customers,” Al-Remeithi said in a statement.

The value of the contract was not disclosed.

Vale has been supplying Emirates Steel with iron ore since 2007.