Tata Steel and Vale, a Brazilian Company along with other joint venture partners have announced to undertake a large scale expansion of the Carborough Downs Coal Mine near Moranbah in Central Queensland in Australia.

Carborough Downs is an underground mine operated by Carborough Downs Coal Management Pty Ltd and owned 80% by Vale and its joint venture partners are Tata Steel (5%), Nippon Steel Corporation (5%), POSCO (5%), JFE Steel (2.5%) and JFE Shoji (2.5%).

This step by Tata Steel is in accordance with the Company’s stated strategy of progressing towards raw material security for its global business. This 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 that will be a potential source to meet part of the Company’s raw material requirement and enhance the long term competitiveness of its global operations. Tata Steel has vast experience of mining, spanning over several decades and this expansion will be a chance to ensure best practices for mining geology environment and project management.

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

Carborough Downs Coal Mine, where Tata Steel holds a 5% interest, started its production in August 2006 as one of the new coking coal projects in the State of Queensland, Australia. Since commencement of the production, while continuing its underground operation at small scale, Carborough Downs JV has studied the development option by Longwall method toward larger scale operation. After completion of the development plan, which is based on the study such as coal quality and geotechnical condition acquired through exploration and operation, Carborough Downs JV has decided the expansion of its underground production by Longwall method. This investment shall ensure 4.9 million tonnes of annual production of ROM to yield 3.7 million tonnes of Coking Coal and PCI Coal from 3rd Quarter of 2009.

About Tata Steel
Tata Steel is the flagship company of Tata Group. The Tata Group comprises 98 operating companies in 7 business sectors. The 139 year old Group is India's largest employer in the private sector and one of the country’s most respected business conglomerates. Tata Steel, established in 1907, Asia’s first and India’s largest integrated private sector steel producer is the world's 6th largest steel producer. With the recent acquisition of Corus, the combined enterprise has a total crude steel production capacity of around 28.1 million tonnes and over 82,000 employees across four continents. Tata Steel has operations in 24 countries and is the second most globally diversified steel group.