Compañía Minera Santa Bárbara

Compañia Minera Santa Bárbara is a Chilean mining company. The company remained dormant from 1977 to 2005 when its heir Leonardo Farkas activated it in view of good international iron ore prices. In doing so Farkas sought a capital injection from the Australian company Admiralty Resources and oriented exports towards China. The company made an ore sales agreement of US$45 million per year with Commercial Metals Company in 2005. Farkas controlled the company by owning 51% of it until 2008 when he sold about 10% to Admiralty Resources which then came to own 60% of it. The company rebranded in early 2009 to Vallenar Iron Company. In late 2010 Admiralty Resources sold the company to Australis Mining, and by 2015 it had been twice put on auction but declared failure to award.