Reinforces my thinking that there is no bidMELBOURNE, April 26...

Reinforces my thinking that there is no bid

MELBOURNE, April 26 (Reuters) - Australia's Discovery Metals Ltd's chief said the company has received no new bid from former suitor Cathay Fortune, and said the Chinese firm's disparaging comments this week were part of an effort to snap up its Botswana copper project cheaply.

Cathay Fortune, Discovery's biggest shareholder, released a letter on Wednesday proposing to make a fresh offer to buy the copper miner as long as Discovery halts a planned equity raising.

"This is an interesting letter to the press, and at this point it's no more than that," Discovery Metals Managing Director Brad Sampson told Reuters by phone from Brisbane.