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United States
Securities and Exchange Commission

FORM 6-K

Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant To Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the month of

December 2003

Valley of the Rio Doce Company

Avenida Graca Aranha, No. 26
20005-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
(Address of principal executive office)

(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.)

(Check One) Form 20-F  X  Form 40-F      

(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.)

(Check One) Yes       No  X 

(If “Yes” is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b). 82-     .)

 

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This current report on Form 6-K is hereby incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement on Form F-4 of Vale Overseas Limited, File No. 333-109610; the Registration Statement on Form F-4 of Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, File No. 333-109610-01; the Registration Statement on Form F-3 of Vale Overseas Limited, File No. 333-110867-01; and the Registration Statement on Form F-3 of Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, File No. 333-110867.

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PRESS RELEASE
SIGNATURES

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EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL SHAREHOLDERS MEETING
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION

Rio de Janeiro, December 12, 2003 — Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) shareholders are invited to attend an Extraordinary General Shareholders Meeting of the Company to be held on December 30, 2003 at 11:00 am at Avenida Graça Aranha # 26 — 19th floor, Rio de Janeiro, to approve the following issues set forth in the Order of the Day:

1)

Election of the members of CVRD’s Board of Directors;

2)

The Approval and Justification for Consolidation of Rio Doce Geologia e Mineração S.A. — Docegeo, Mineração Serra do Sossego S.A., Vale do Rio Doce Alumínio S.A.- Aluvale and Mineração Vera Cruz S.A., wholly owned subsidiaries of CVRD, pursuant to articles 224 and 225 of Law Number 6404/76;

3)

To ratify the appointment of the experts to appraise the value of the companies to be consolidated;

4)

To decide on the Appraisal Report, prepared by the expert appraisers;

5)

The Approval for the Consolidation, without capital increase or issuance of new shares of Rio Doce Geologia e Mineração S.A. — Docegeo, Mineração Serra do Sossego S.A., Vale do Rio Doce Alumínio S.A.- Aluvale and Mineração Vera Cruz S.A. by this Company.

According to Comissão de Valores Mobiliários — CVM (the Brazilian securities exchange commission) Instruction Number 282, dated June 26, 1998, the minimum share participation in the Company’s voting capital necessary to request multiple vote is 5% (five per cent).

For shareholders who will be represented by proxies, we request the remittance of said proxy instruments 72 (seventy-two) hours in advance of the scheduled meeting time for verifications of the legitimacy of said representation.

Sérgio Ricardo Silva Rosa
Chairman of the Board of Directors

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For further information, please contact:
Roberto Castello Branco: roberto.castello.branco@cvrd.com.br +55-21-3814-4540
Barbara Geluda: barbara.geluda@cvrd.com.br +55-21-3814-4557
Daniela Tinoco: daniela.tinoco@cvrd.com.br +55-21-3814-4946
Eduardo Mello Franco: eduardo.mello.franco@cvrd.com.br +55-21-3814-9849
Rafael Azevedo: rafael.azevedo@cvrd.com.br +55-21-3814-4700
Rafael Campos: rafael.campos@cvrd.com.br +55-21-3814-4353

This press release may contain statements that express management’s expectations about future events or results rather than historical facts. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements, and CVRD cannot give assurance that such statements will prove correct. These risks and uncertainties include factors: relating to the Brazilian economy and securities markets, which exhibit volatility and can be adversely affected by developments in other countries; relating to the iron ore business and its dependence on the global steel industry, which is cyclical in nature; and relating to the highly competitive industries in which CVRD operates. For additional information on factors that could cause CVRD’s actual results to differ from expectations reflected in forward-looking statements, please see CVRD’s reports filed with the Brazilian Comissão de Valores Mobiliários and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.