on April 6 rejected a mediareport which stipulated that the Brazilian mining giant was in talks to sell a stakein its fertilizer business to Norway's YaraInternational ASA.

The responsecame after Brazilian daily Valor Econômicoreported that Vale may sell a minority stake in its fertilizer unit later thisyear, with unnamed sources valuing the deal at US$1.2 billion, Reuters wrote.

YaraInternational also denied holding any talks with Vale but said it plans to stepup investments to expand its business, as well as to improve competitiveness.