In 1977, Marcona Corporation, one of Samarco's partners, became controlled by Utah International Inc., forming Utah-Marcona Corporation. The companies were purchased by General Eletric and, in 1984, by Australian mining company Broken Hill Proprietary Mining Company (BHP), which became the holder of 49% of Samarco.

In 1997, we opened a new pelletizing plant in Ubu and expanded the capacity of the Germano plant. In 2000, Vale bought Samitri. After an agreement with BHP, each company now holds 50% of Samarco. With the Third Pelletizing Project, completed in 2008, we inaugurated a concentration plant in Germano, a pipeline and a third pelletizing plant in Ubu. In 2014, we made the last expansion, with the installation of the fourth pelletizing plant in Ubu, a third concentrator in Germano and the third ore pipeline.