Tata chairman Ratan Tata told a press conference on Saturday that it had finalised a plan to buy a coal mine in Australia. The company already has a 5% interest in the Carborough Downs Coal Project in Queensland.

“We are looking at how we can align ourselves with Corus and buy into or partner with coal and iron ore producers to meet our needs,” the Economic Times reported Tata as saying.

“With Corus, our plan has now acquired global components. We have put in a proposal for a coal mine in Australia. We are scanning for possibilities elsewhere across the world too.”

Tata Steel hopes the acquisition of Corus will give the companies more global clout to access raw materials.

Tata Steel originally put in a bid for Corus during October last year, and following an auction process the company settled on a price of £6.08 per Corus share.

Tata said there were no plans to merge the two companies for now but they would exist side by side. It is expected the deal will be finalised by early April.