Ferrexpo (LON:FXPO) has agreed a long term sales deal with Japan’s JFE Steel - the fifth largest steel producer in the world.
It will sell around 300,000 tonnes of its 65 percent iron pellets to JFE every year.
"We are delighted to have secured our first contract in Japan with a customer of such high calibre,” Ferrexpo chairman Michael Abrahams said.
He adds: “We believe Ferrexpo is the first iron ore producer in the CIS to negotiate a long term contract with a Japanese steel mill,”
Ferrexpo sent trial cargoes to JFE in 2007 and 2009 as part of its strategy to diversify its customer base and to position itself as a credible iron ore pellet supplier to the major steel mills.
Last week, Ferrexpo told investors that it maintained full capacity production throughout November.
The company has continued to deliver strong production, and volumes in the year to date are significantly above last year.
In the year to date it has increased total pellet production to 9.1 million tonnes, up 15 percent from the same period in 2009.
Breaking the numbers down further, Ferrexpo upped production of its two main products, 62 and 65 percent iron pellets, by 16.8 and 13.3 percent respectively.
Whilst it has had to significantly increase production from third party concentrate to meet demand, it has also managed to increase production from its own ore by 5.3 percent.