Brazilian mining company”s Vale SA (VALE) declined to
comment Tuesday about reports of its possible interest in bidding for the Tavan
Tolgoi coal mine in Mongolia.

“Vale doesn”t comment on market
rumors,” a spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires.

A bid for Tavan Tolgoi would expand
Vale”s presence in Mongolia and give it closer access to China, the world”s largest coal consuming market.
Vale currently is exploring for nickel and coal at sites in Mongolia”s Ulan
Bator region through its Tethys Mining unit, according to the company.

Vale has been building its coal
mining businesses in recent years in order to supply the domestic market in
Brazil. Brazil lacks thermal and metallurgical coal deposits.

The company currently produces
thermal and metallurgical coal in Australia via its Vale Australia unit, where
the Belvedere coal project is currently under development. In addition, Vale
expects to start production at the gigantic Moatize coal project in Mozambique
by mid-2011. The El Hatillo project in Colombia should also start initial
operations this year.

Vale expects coal production to
reach 11.6 million metric tons in 2011, rising to 42 million metric tons by
2015.

A report earlier Tuesday by Reuters
pegged Vale as among 15 companies interested in bidding for the project, which
is estimated to hold 5 billion tons of coal.

Other interested companies included ArcelorMittal (MT.AE),
as well as a Japanese consortium led by Itochu Corp. (8002.TO) and including
Sumitomo Corp. (8053.TO), Marubeni Corp. (8002.TO) and Sojitz Corp. (2768.TO),
according to the report. South Korea”s state-owned Korea Resources Corp. is
also in the running.

Source:  Dow Jones Newswire