Even though the above article I posted was dated 20/5/11 it...

Even though the above article I posted was dated 20/5/11 it appears it is a couple of years out of date, as it seems very similar to a previous report about pulling out of that RCF led consortium.

http://www.steelguru.com/sfTCPDF/getPDF/MTE1ODE5/RCF_NMDC_JV_pulls_out_of_Tunisian_project.html

RCF NMDC JV pulls out of Tunisian project
Tuesday, 13 Oct, 2009
It is reported that an Indian consortium led by fertilizer major Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd has dropped its proposal to participate in a USD 4 billion bid for a rock phosphate project in Tunisia.
The main reason cited was the detailed due diligence recently showed that the investment was a risky proposition given the terms and conditions set by the Tunisian authorities.
The consortium which had Hyderabad based mining major National Mineral Development Corporation and Kribhco as other partners had been pursing the Tunisian rock phosphate project for quite some time now as Tunisia is the world?s fifth largest and Africa?s second largest phosphate producer after Morocco.
In fact, although the bid value was later pared down to about USD 2.5 billion, the consortium did not find certain terms and conditions completely risk-proof. It was supposed to submit the bid by September 30th 2009.
Mr Rana Som CMD of NMDC told Business Line that ?A few days ago our consortium leader decided not to go ahead with
the project as the investment was risky given some of the terms and conditions set by the Tunisian authorities.?

Sorry for any confusion I caused by the earlier posting. But it does appear that NMDC is going to be negotiating on tough terms, and not prepared to take much risk.