OREANDA-NEWS. Brazilian miner Vale VALE5.SA said on Thursday it would seek to sell a minority stake in its coal operations, including mines and projects in Mozambique and Australia, adding it had already had expressions of interest from unnamed coal users and buyers. “The assets in Australia and Moatize (in Mozambique) will go in a coal vehicle. We are looking to sell a stake of between 15 to 25 percent, but we are flexible, depending on the proposal,” Roger Downey, head of Vale's fertilisers and coal division, said at a London press conference.

Vale, the world's largest producer of iron ore, owns the Moatize coal operation in Mozambique.

It also has mines in Australia including the Carborough Downs mine, and Isaac Plains, which it part-owns.

It operates the Integra mine.Vale owns undeveloped Australian projects including the Belvedere project in Queensland.

The miner, which is cutting spending plans in 2014 for the third straight year and hopes to boost its share of the iron ore market, is separately seeking to sell part of its stake in a group that is expanding a rail and port corridor used to move coal from Moatize to the port of Nacala.

The importance of the railway to non-coal operations such as agriculture has led Vale to look for outside partners for the rail link, the miner said.

Vale's overseas projects also include a stake in Simandou in Guinea, the world's largest untapped iron ore deposit.

Vale, whose partner in its part of Simandou is entrepreneur Beny Steinmetz's mining business, said it was waiting for the Guinean government to reach a verdict on the disputed licence and on the rules that will govern the development, before deciding whether to progress with the deposit.