According to a Reuters report on Tuesday, Vale is seeking at least $306 million which is the amount it paid for the operations and facilities in 2008.

Unidentified sources said buyer interest was weak because of the high price.

Vale reportedly wants to divest the operations because they are smaller and higher-cost than those of fellow miners Cerrejon, Drummond and Glencore.

The sources said Goldman’s main attraction to Vale’s asset portfolio in the South American country was port access.

It currently pays to use the Carbosans port and Vale’s harbor.

Also, a deal adding in Vale’s share of rail transport would double its Fenoco railway capacity to 7 million tonnes.

“Goldman Sachs looks the most likely to buy it, they probably will if they over pay, as Vale did originally,” a senior industry source told Reuters.

The source said the auction could be completed by the end of the month.

In December, Vale reportedly said it wanted to close a sale in the early part of the year.

“Vale closes [the process] soon,” the source told the news service.

“Goldman Sachs is in there. They're very interested.”

According to Reuters, one industry source who had reviewed the operations said the reserves were mostly low in quality and were too small to justify the price point.

“The reserves are fairly poor and not large by any means,” another individual was quoted by the outlet as saying.

All three of Colombia’s major producers, including Cerrejon, Drummond and Glencore, provide a majority of the country’s export coal and all have their own port facilities, rail access and surface operations.

Reuters said the most reasonable buyers for the Vale assets would be Goldman Sachs-affiliated Colombian Natural Resources, Glencore's Prodeco or US-based miner Drummond.

Glencore, now in a $90 billion all-share takeover of Xstrata, reportedly gave consideration to the operations but did not bid.

The news service first reported Vale’s plans to divest its operations, which have a capacity of three million tonnes annually, last November.

According to the report on Tuesday, Credit Suisse is advising on the sale.

The sources told the news service that should the auction fail, Glencore was seen as the next likely buyer for the right dollar amount, as it would increase its Colombian foothold and provide more capacity.

“I’m sure [Glencore would] love to buy it and it would make perfect sense for them to do so but they'll never overpay – they'll be watching developments.”