TALK of a large coal deal is setting the pulses racing with speculation that Brazilian giant Vale and US group Peabody Coal are looking at acquisitions in Australia. Many think Vale is eyeing its joint venture partner Aquila Resources, with which it is in a rather fractious relationship. To make matters more interesting, industry watchers are also expecting Vale to at some point target Riversdale Mining, a neighbour in the booming coal province near Tet in Mozambique. The other theory is that Peabody is set to make an offer for Nathan Tinkler's Aston Resources or Whitehaven Coal. Perhaps a more likely deal is Japanese trading house Itochu buying 25 per cent of Aston's Maules Creek mine in NSW. That was well-telegraphed at the time of the IPO.
