RIO DE JANEIRO -(Dow Jones)- Brazilian mining company Vale SA (VALE, VALE5.BR) named Roger Downey to head its fertilizer and coal units, the company said in a regulatory filing Wednesday. Downey replaces Eduardo de Salles Bartolomeo, who is leaving Vale for other professional challenges, the company said. The move places a well-known player in Brazil's mining and metals sector in charge of Vale's growing fertilizer and coal businesses. Downey was president of local mining company MMX Mineracao e Metalicos SA (MMXM3.BR) for more than two years before leaving for personal reasons in October. The executive also previously served as Vale's strategic iron-ore marketing manager in 2005. Vale aims to become a global leader in the fertilizers business, which it can use to feed Brazil's massive agriculture industry at home. Brazil imports about 90% of the fertilizer or raw materials for fertilizer to support the country's massive agriculture sector. The Brazilian government is also keen to see greater fertilizer production in the hands of key local companies. The government has pushed to secure more control over fertilizer production and reduce its reliance on imports following a period of intense volatility in crop nutrient prices. Vale expanded its fertilizers business through a series of acquisitions in 2010, when it bought Bunge Ltd.'s (BG) Brazilian fertilizer assets and Fosfertil SA, a local producer, for a total of $4.7 billion. The mining company is also increasing investments and production of coal, one of the few natural resources that Brazil lacks. -By Jeff Fick, Dow Jones Newswires; 55-21-2586-6085; jeff.fick@dowjones.com
