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The sale of Anglo American’s nickel mines in Goiás to the Chinese MMG, valued at up to US$ 500 million, has been stalled for over a year by the European Union. According to information from the portal mais goiás, the European bloc opened an investigation into the risk that China might divert the ferronickel extracted in Barro Alto and Niquelândia, currently one-third destined for the European market. The deadline for the conclusion of the analysis has already been postponed twice, and a Turkish billionaire has entered the dispute offering US$ 750 million for the same operation.
China may be about to take control of one of Brazil’s largest nickel operations, but the European Union has decided it won’t let this happen without a fight. The sale of the British mining company Anglo American’s nickel assets in the cities of Barro Alto and Niquelândia, in Goiás, to the Chinese MMG was announced in February 2025 and valued at up to US$ 500 million. Since then, the operation has faced a European investigation that has already suspended deadlines, accessed thousands of internal documents from both companies, and could result in the total rejection of the transfer.
The central issue is strategic: one-third of Anglo American’s ferronickel production currently serves the European market, and Brazil is the largest supplier of this raw material to the European Union. Europe fears that China, by controlling the extraction, will redirect the nickel to the Asian market, compromising the European supply of a mineral considered critical for the energy transition. Anglo American and MMG deny there would be any diversion, but European regulators do not seem convinced.
What’s at Stake in the Goiás Mines
Anglo American’s nickel operations in Barro Alto and Niquelândia, in Goiás, are some of the most significant in Brazil. The country is one of the largest producers of ferronickel in the world, and the Goiás mines supply both the domestic market and export to Europe, Asia, and North America. Anglo American decided to sell these assets as part of a global restructuring initiated in 2024, when the company opted to focus solely on copper, iron ore, and fertilizers.
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The restructuring was a response to the hostile takeover attempt by the Australian giant BHP. To defend itself, Anglo American promised investors to simplify its portfolio and divest from coal, nickel, platinum, and diamond. The sale of nickel to the Chinese company MMG was part of this plan, but the European investigation turned what should have been a transaction of a few months into a stalemate that has lasted more than a year.
The European investigation and the deadlines that keep slipping
The sale was communicated to the European Union regulators in May 2025. Executives from both companies expected approval by September of that year. In November, the bloc opened a formal investigation into the effects of the transfer on European supply, accessing thousands of documents, databases, and email exchanges from the two mining companies.
The 90-working-day deadline for completing the analysis was suspended in November, forcing Anglo and MMG to postpone the deadline to June 2026. Now, in May 2026, the deadline remains suspended with 78 days of analysis remaining. The two companies are already mentioning September 2026 as the new date, although the contract has not yet been updated. The European Union may require operational adjustments to ensure that nickel continues to go to Europe, or it may simply block the sale.
The Turkish billionaire who complicated everything
The European investigation did not arise spontaneously. It was triggered by Robert Yüksel Yildirim, a Turkish businessman and owner of CoreX Holding, who claims to have offered a higher value for Anglo American’s nickel assets but was overlooked in favor of the Chinese MMG. The original offer from CoreX was $450 million. In April 2026, amid the European analysis, the Turkish businessman increased the proposal to $750 million, with $400 million in cash.
The move is significant because investors believe that a sale to the Turkish holding would be more easily accepted by European regulators than to China. CoreX does not carry the geopolitical weight of being a Chinese company operating in a sector that Europe considers strategic. Anglo American has not commented on the new proposal, but the $250 million difference compared to MMG’s offer puts pressure on the British mining company.
Why Europe treats nickel as a security issue
Nickel is a critical mineral for the energy transition. It is essential in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, in stainless steel alloys, and in superalloys for the aerospace industry. China already dominates a large part of the global nickel processing and controls the battery supply chain from end to end, and Europe does not want to increase this dependency by allowing another source of raw material to fall into Chinese hands.
The European concern is part of a broader context of “de-risking,” the bloc’s strategy to reduce dependence on Chinese suppliers in critical chains. The United States has also pressed: the American mining industry association asked Trump to intervene in the sale, classifying it as a risk to the security of the Western nickel supply. For Anglo American, the deal should be purely commercial. For Europeans and Americans, it’s geopolitics.
What MMG and Anglo American say
Jorge de Carvalho, general director of MMG in Brazil, told Folha de S.Paulo that the European process is taking much longer than the company anticipated. According to him, “we live in a tense and constantly changing geopolitical environment, and these tensions can end up overshadowing commercial interests and market realities.” Sandra Xiangjun Guan, executive general manager of MMG, said that all other conditions for completion have already been met and that, as soon as European approval comes, the transfer can happen quickly.
Anglo American, in turn, stated that it continues to work constructively with the parties involved and emphasized the importance of such evaluations progressing with predictability and clarity. The mining company is also conducting a merger with Canadian Teck Resources, scheduled for the end of 2026. Although the merger is not conditioned on the sale of nickel, Anglo executives expected the transfer to be approved before completion. The European impasse frustrates the restructuring and keeps China, Europe, and a Turkish billionaire vying for the fate of Brazilian nickel.
Do you think the European Union should block the sale of Goiás nickel to China, or is the decision purely commercial and not for foreign regulators to interfere? What stands out the most: the Turkish $750 million, the European veto, or the fact that the fate of a Brazilian mineral is decided on the other side of the world? Tell us in the comments.
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