Singapore (Platts)--15Nov2012/641 am EST/1141 GMT

Brazilian miner Vale was said to have canceled for the second time a tender offering 63.63%-Fe Iron Ore Sohar or IOSO fines, trade sources said Thursday.

"The bids were probably too low once again so it didn't get awarded," a Beijing-based trader said.

Vale canceled the tender for the same shipment on Monday, before offering it again Thursday.

This is also the third time the miner has canceled a spot tender this week. It also canceled a tender offering 150,000 mt of 61.5%-Fe Sinter Feed Ore Guaiba or SFOG iron ore fines on Wednesday. Trade sources said that tender was also canceled due to low bid prices.

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The Beijing-based trader added that IOSO cargoes are not that popular with mills as even though the silica content is acceptable, it is a blend containing high-silica ore, so end-users might not be confident about the reliability of the product.

A company source at Vale's Singapore office declined to comment on the matter.

This 90,000 mt IOSO shipment contains 1.31% alumina, 4.91% silica, 0.036% phosphorus, 0.465% manganese, 1.78% loss on ignition and 8% moisture. The cargo will load over November 16-20 from Sohar, Oman.

--Celestyn Wong, celestyn_wong@platts.com
--Edited by E Shailaja Nair, shailaja_nair@platts.com

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