According to two people familiar with the matter, Vale SA's fertilizer assets sale remains on track despite a request from the Brazilian state development bank, or BNDES, to study the deal more carefully, Reuters wrote Oct. 5.

The terms of the transaction, which covers the sale of certain assets to Mosaic Co., are unlikely to change significantly.

BNDES pushed back the vote on the fertilizer deal at the company's recent board meeting, while O Globo reported earlier that voting has been delayed to Oct. 20.

Reuters also reported earlier that the mining heavyweight was looking for a partner for its fertilizer business and ruled out a potential sale.

The sources also suggest that Mosaic could pay as much as US$3.6 billion for part of Vale's fertilizers business, while the sale of other unspecified fertilizer assets is being negotiated with Yara International ASA.

Vale was rumored to be nearing the sale of a partial stake in the unit to Mosaic Co., while it previously rejected a media report saying that it was in talks to sell a fertilizer business stake to Yara International.