Canada's second-biggest mining company, Teck Resources Ltd, was named as one of the remaining bidders for Rio Tinto Group's stake in Iron Ore Co. The deal will enable Teck Resources Ltd to diversify its production which generally consists of copper, coal and zinc. The 59% stake claim of Rio in Iron Ore is estimated at US$3.5 billion.

The acquisition would be largest for Teck's since its CAD10.4 billion (US$10.1 billion) acquisition of Fording Canadian Coal Trust done in 2008. The deal was completed just as market prices were taking a plunge on the onset of the financial crisis. Teck Resources Ltd currently holds a very strong balance sheet and the company mentioned that they would like to keep it that way.

"We do look at opportunities in the market," Chief Executive Officer Don Lindsay said. "If Teck found a potential acquisition, we'd look at how to finance it at that stage, but always with the key criteria that we are staying investment-grade."