New Delhi, May 21: ArcelorMittal, which has acquired a 14.9 per cent stake in Australia’s MacArthur Coal Limited, may bid for a larger pie to take control of the firm.

MacArthur supplies low-ash coal to global steel companies.

Steel industry sources said the $105-billion ArcelorMittal could use MacArthur’s high-quality coking coal for its giant steel projects coming up in Orissa and Jharkhand, as well as for its existing plants in Europe.

Analysts predicted that the L.N. Mittal-controlled company might pay up to $4 billion to take control of the Brisbane-based company.

ArcelorMittal today announced it had bought a 4.27 per cent stake from Talbot Group Holdings and another 10.4 per cent from Tinkler Investments, between April 24 and May 21.

In financial year 2007, MacArthur produced around 3.6 million tonnes of coal.

If ArcelorMittal is able to take control of MacArthur, its self-sufficiency in coal will go up to 20 per cent.

It already has a 45 per cent self-sufficiency in iron ore.

Global steel makers are engaged in a mad scramble to corner coal and iron ore resources across Australia, Russia, Africa and the Americas.

The two biggest Indian steel makers — Tata Steel and Steel Authority of India Ltd — too have been on a hunt for mines abroad.

The Tatas have made several strategic investments, while SAIL is believed to be finalising investments through a joint venture with state-run steel companies in Africa.

SAIL is also trying to tie up for long-term coal supplies through contracts with key suppliers who will sell up to 5 million tonnes annually to the steel maker.

Tata Steel has joined hands with Vale, a leading Brazilian mining company, to pump nearly $400 million in a large-scale expansion of the Carborough Downs coal mine near Moranbah in Queensland, Australia. Tata Steel owns a 5 per cent stake in the mine.