Brazilian mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (RIO), or Vale, expects to attract 150 million Brazilian reals ($66 million) in direct investment to Brazil from foreign equipment and service suppliers in 2009, the company's global supplies director, Marcos Saraiva, said Friday.

"The investment shows foreign companies believe in Vale's long-term projects," Saraiva said.

Vale believes the expansion of existing or the opening up of new operations by six foreign companies will help Vale to cut costs.

The companies include A.Stucki and Bucyrus (BUCY) from the U.S., Austria's Voestalpine (VOE.VI), or VAE, Germany's Contitech, Spain's Maxam and Sweden's Sandvik (SAND.SK), Vale said.

A.Stucki will recondition railroad wagon coupling equipment for Vale's extensive fleet and save the company 29% of the cost of annual replacements.

The company has opened workshops at Sao Luis, near Vale's export port for its Carajas iron ore deposits in the Lower Amazon basin.

Contitech will install conveyor belts for Vale in the south of Brazil.

VAE is world leader in supplying track-switching equipment and will operate on the Carajas railroad and the North-South Railroad.

Vale has the operating concession for the North-South, which is currently being extended to eventually link Brazil's northeast coast to the industrial south.

Maxam has been in Brazil for two years and supplies explosives and related equipment for Vale's Carajas mines.

Sandvik supplies mining equipment for Vale's south-east system in Minas Gerais State.

Bucyrus already has a conveyor belt plant in Vale's south-east system but plans to build a second unit at Sao Luis to serve its northern Carajas system.

-By John Kolodziejski, Dow Jones Newswires; 55-21-2586-6086; John.Kolodziejski@dowjones.com