Japanese brokerage Mitsui is set to buy a stake in an iron ore exploration project in Australia, becoming a partner of Rio Tinto Group.

Mitsui said in a statement on Wednesday that it will acquire a 40% stake in the Rhodes Ridge exploration project in Western Australia for $5.3 billion, according to Bloomberg.

It explained that this stake is owned by two minority shareholders, and Rio Tinto will retain its full 50% stake in the project, which is expected to start production in 2030.

It added that the deal is divided into acquiring a 25% stake owned by VOC Group, and 15% owned by AMB Holdings, which will continue to retain 10% ownership of the project.

She added that she will turn the project into a joint investment with Rio Tinto, which spent $77 million studying the site in 2023 to prepare it for production.