Brazilian mining giant Vale SA on Thursday said that it might sell stakes in its global fertilizer and coal businesses to strategic investors. The exit aims to lighten project costs and build up those nascent operations. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said that the company also plans to sell its stake in an ailing Brazilian steel plant. Vale and German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG invested over EUR5.2 billion (USD7 billion) to build steel-slab plant CSA in 2010. The asset has yet to turn a profit. 

Vale said it considers coal and fertilizers as part of its long-term core and is not targeting the divisions for divestment. But the two segments accounted for a tiny portion of Vale's revenue and have weighed on cash flow, the report said. 

Vale fertilizer and coal operations head Roger Downey told WSJ that the company is considering selling a minority equity stake of between 15% and 25% in the global coal division. 

According to the report, Vale already has confidentiality agreements with several interested parties and is targeting to bring in joint-venture partners. 

Vale is the world's largest iron-ore producer. It has sold some USD6.4 billion assets in the last two years, said WSJ.