TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co said on Wednesday it would acquire a 40% stake in the Rio Tinto-operated Rhodes Ridge iron ore project in Western Australia for $5.34 billion to strengthen its long-term earnings base.

Rhodes Ridge is one of the world's largest undeveloped iron ore deposits with 6.8 billion metric tons of mineral resources, Mitsui said in a statement.

The Japanese company is buying out two separate stakes controlled by the family of late Australian magnate Michael Wright, whose father jointly discovered the region's iron ore lode in the 1960s.

Mitsui, with a diverse portfolio spanning metal resources, energy, machinery, and food, expects production to start by 2030. Its 40% stake in Rhodes Ridge is projected to yield 16 million tons of iron ore a year initially, rising to more than 40 million tons after further expansion.

In the financial year that ended in March 2024, Mitsui's annual equity share of iron ore production was 61 million tons, the company said.

Mitsui expects to find cost savings by tapping existing infrastructure between Rhodes Ridge and Rio Tinto's nearby Robe River project in which it also has a stake, it said.

Iron ore from Rhodes Ridge will be blended into the ore sold by Rio Tinto and exported to Asian countries, including Japan, Mitsui added.

Wright Prospecting's former 50% interest in the Rhodes Ridge joint venture has been restructured and separated into two newly formed entities separately controlled by its shareholders, VOCG and AMB.

Mitsui will buy VOC Group's entire 25% interest for $3.34 billion including stamp duty, with the deal expected to close by end-March 2026.

Mitsui also plans to purchase a 15% stake from AMB Holdings for $2 billion including stamp duty.

After these transactions, Rio Tinto will hold 50% of the project, while Mitsui will own 40% and AMB 10%.

(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko, Kantaro Komiya and Yuka Obayashi; Additional reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Jamie Freed)

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