Brazilian mining company Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) on Wednesday said it has sold two of its units destined to the production of alloys for a total of 23 million U.S. dollars.

According to the company's press statement, private equity fund Wellgate, headquartered in Switzerland, acquired the two plants Tuesday evening.

One of the plants, located in the municipality of Sao Joao del-Rei, Minas Gerais state, produced 23,000 tons of silicon-calcium alloys in 2006. The other, as part of CVRD's operations abroad, is located in Dunkirk, north of France and produced 11,000 tons of cored wire last year.

Both alloys are used in the production of steel.

CVRD said the sales followed the company's strategic principles concerning the manganese business, as it plans to concentrate on the production of manganese ore and alloys. – Xinhua