Tata Steel has joined hands with Brazilian mining giant, Vale, to invest over around Rs 1,555 crore in a large-scale expansion of the Carborough Downs coal mine near Moranbah in Queensland, Australia.

Carborough Downs is an underground mine operated by Carborough Downs Coal Management. Around 80 per cent of the mine is owned by Vale and its joint venture partners, including Tata Steel (5%), Nippon Steel Corporation (5%), Posco (5%), JFE Steel (2.5%) and JFE Shoji (2.5%).

The total capital investment is estimated to be Aus$401 million. The construction is scheduled to commence in May 2008 and the commissioning of large-scale and new mining equipment (Longwall), which will be one of the largest in Australia, is expected by mid 2009.

The present decision on expansion of production at the Carborough Down Coal Mine in Australia gives Tata Steel an opportunity to explore larger areas for coal deposits which will be a potential source to meet part of the Company's raw material requirement. It will also help Tata Steel to enhance the long term competitiveness of its global operations.