World's sixth largest steel maker Tata Steel [Get Quote] said on Thursday its European subsidiary Corus has entered into a long-term contract with Brazilian miner Vale to secure supplies of about 63 million tonnes of iron ore for five years.

The contract would come into effect in 2009, Tata Steel said.

"We are pleased to have reached this important agreement with Vale. This contract complements the raw material strategy for Tata Steel Group's European operations of combining external sources with future captive supplies," Corus CEO Philippe Varin said.

Corus, Europe's second largest steel producer, had annual revenues in excess of 12 billion pound and produced about 20 million tonnes of crude steel last fiscal.

Tata Steel, India's largest private steel company, has an annual capacity of 28 million tonnes globally. The Tata Steel Group recorded a turnover of $33 billion in 2007-08.

• Tata-Corus saga